Aosta Valley

Aosta Valley

Day-trips to Aosta Valley are possible from the main villages and cities of Piedmont.
Some of the highlights we may include are:

• Visit Aosta, an ancient roman town with fascinating medieval corners. You will admire the mighty Roman bridge reaching the square dominated by the Arch of Augustus, the theatre and the Roman Amphitheatre, and the Collegiata di Sant’Orso.
  
  
• The imposing fort of Bard, an impenetrable barrier of the nineteenth century, today a European centre of culture.
  
  
• Stop in the small but trendy alpine town of Courmayeur just under the “Monte Bianco” peak, from where the cable railway can take you to Punta Helbronner (at 3.462 mt. of height).
  
  
• Taste the local wine: grape varieties like Donnas, Gamay, Nebbiolo and Petite Arvine are grown on the sunny side of the mountain giving birth to great full-bodied wines.
  
  
• Taste the local specialties: the Lard d’Arnad, made only from the shoulder of pigs which weigh more than 200 kg. The pieces of fat are placed to mature inside old oak or chestnut wood containers inside of which the fat is layered until the top.
  Layers are then alternated with a mixture of salt, water, spices, and aromatic mountain herbs, and left to age for at least three months. Not to miss, the famous Fontina DOP cheese, a fatty cheese with a semi-cooked paste, produced with whole milk from the local breed of cows.