Cyclotour: Aosta – Pont-Saint-Martin

You leave the city of Aosta in the direction of Turin and the first village you come to is Quart, where you can see a beautiful castle perched on the hilltop. A few kilometres further on, you reach Nus: in the village there are the ruins of what is known as Pilato Castle and on the hill stands the Castle of the Lords of Nus (14th century). The next place you meet is Chambave, famous for its wines, and then you reach Châtillon which stands almost in the centre of the Val d’Aosta and provides access to Valtournenche. On top of a hill, within a hollow sheltered from the winds, stands Saint-Vincent which owes its fame to the Casino opened in 1947. As you continue downhill into the valley, you meet the ancient village of Montjovet, located in a strategic position along the Roman “Via Galliarum” and overlooked by Saint-Germain Castle. You immediately reach Verrès, dominated by an imposing castle built in the latter half of the 14th century. Another place along the road to Turin is Arnad, a village surrounded by vineyards and chestnut woods, which is also famous for its incomparable “lardo”. At the entrance to the village stands the highly interesting Parish Church of San Martino, a fine example of Romanesque architecture whose façade dates back to the end of the 15th century. Continuing on you come to Bard ridge. Due to its strategic position, it has always been a mainstay against invasions and this explains why it has been fortified since ancient times. The fortress, completed by King Carlo Alberto in 1838, is the most imposing example of military architecture in Val d’Aosta. A few kilometres further on stands Donnas, a mediaeval village built along the important Roman road - “Via Galliarum”. A 200 m paved section of it can still be seen together with a characteristic Roman arch carved into the rock. The village is surrounded by chestnut woods and marvellous terraced vineyards for the production of famous DOC red wines. Lastly you come to Pont-Saint-Martin whose most famous monument is its spectacular Roman Bridge (1st century B.C.). The panorama is dominated by the ruins of the ancient Castle of the Lords of Bard, dating back to the 1200s and perched on high ground at the entrance to the Val de Gressoney.

Places you go through on the route:
- Aosta (570 m)
- Saint-Marcel junction 8.3 km (530 m)
- Nus - St-Barthélemy junction 10.5 km (545 m)
- Col San Pantaleone junction 17.2 km (478 m)
- Pontey junction 20.1 km (460 m)
- Valtournenche junction 22.2 km (530 m)
- Saint-Vincent junction 25 km (527 m)
- Montjovet 31.7 km (390 m)
- Verrès - Val d’Ayas junction 36.6 km (379 m)
- Arnad 39.8 km (360 m)
- Valle di Champorcher junction 44.6 km (348 m)
- Donnas 48 km (350 m)
- Valle Gressoney junction 50.7 km (345 m)
- Pont-Saint-Martin 51 km (345 m)

Route included in a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 1996 (Briançon/Aosta). Stage won by Bugno (ITA).