Heritage: Bard

Challant House
Built towards the end of the fifteenth century, it is located in the Medieval village of Bard. The house was home to Count Filiberto di Challand, lord of Bard between 1487 and 1517. It features lancet windows and other pointed windows.

Nicole House
Partially built over the western gate to the Bard village, the building facade preserves signs of bullets shot during the assault on the Bard fortress by Napoleon’s army in May 1800. The building creates a tower whose top is adorned by the chapel’s quatrefoil window. The chapel was frescoed by painter Giovanni Antonio di Biella.

Valperga House
Dating back to the sixteenth century, this house has interesting pointed windows and the remains of pictorial decorations. A twin lancet window and the remains of frescoes that depict ancient coats of arms, including that of the Valperga family, are found at the centre.

Already during Theodoric’s reign (early 6th century A.D), sixty armed soldiers were garrisoned to defend the “Clausuræ Augustanæ” (a defence system set up to protect the borders of the Empire) in Bard.
In 1034, it was described as “inexpugnabile oppidum”, in one of the oldest references to a castle in Valle d’Aosta. The Savoys became the Lords of Bard in 1242, with Amadeus IV, driven by the insistence of the local inhabitants, who were tired of the abuse of power by Hugh of Bard, who exploited the position of his castle to levy heavy duties on travellers and merchants.
From that time on, the castle was always controlled by the Savoys, who held a garrison there. In 1661, the armies from other fortresses in Aosta Valley, including Verrès and Montjovet, converged in Bard.
The castle took on renewed importance with the passage of the French army in 1704 and particularly in May 1800 on the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte, who found a garrison of 400 Austrian men within the fortress. The defence structures of the fortress were so efficient that Napoleon’s army took about two weeks to overcome the Austrian defences, eventually succeeding thanks to cunning tactics. The fortress was then dismantled by Napoleon, to avoid further problems.
The current appearance of the fort is the result of reconstruction work commissioned by Carlo Felice, at the height of the Restoration, which, from 1830 onwards, turned it into one of the largest military structures in the Aosta Valley. The fortress began to deteriorate at the end of the nineteenth century. It was used as a prison and then as a weapons depot. It was decommissioned in 1975 from military state property and was purchased by the Aosta Valley regional authority in 1990.

Completely renewed in 2006, the fortress hosts the Museum of the Alps, the Children’s Alps, the “Prisons*, the Fortresses and Frontiers Museum, as well as permanent and temporary exhibitions.

The parish of Bard, although it was already mentioned in 1176, was actually always managed by the parish priest of Hône, who regularly went there to celebrate the Mass. Nevertheless, given that the suburb of Bard was often closed and remained isolated even for lengthy periods, and given that the bridge between the two towns was occasionally interrupted due to adverse weather conditions, in the eighteenth century the inhabitants asked for their own parish. On the 24th of January 1775 the Bishop decreed the establishment of the parish of Bard. The church, which was dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, dates back to 1868 and is probably the result of the restoration of a previous one, which was much older, perhaps from around the same time as the beautiful Romanesque bell tower, which dates back to the 12th - 13th centuries.

In the ancient times the chestnut was a base component of the peasant diet, especially in mid mountain villages.

In the village of Albard di Bard, to demonstrate the processing of this product a ‘‘grehe’‘ has been set up, a characteristic small two-storey rural building used to dry chestnuts.
In the same building, in the area once used as a deposit, you can see the original equipment for processing chestnuts along with illustrative panels: the hammer to open them, the pincers to extract them from their cases, the sacks of rough hemp to be beaten on a wooden block to remove the shells, which were then eliminated by shaking it with a winnow (’‘lo van’‘, in dialect).

The museum is only open for special events.

Located in the Opera Ferdinando on the first level of the Fortress, this museum offers an exciting journey into the evolution of defence techniques, blockade systems and the ‘border’ concept.
The need to provide further historical information and material regarding the site and the Fortress was the starting point of a project that later revealed the need to expand this itinerary of knowledge – both in terms of time and space – to include the configuration of the 19th century Fort into the history of fortification systems in view of the Alps as a physical boundary, obstacle, natural barrier, mobile frontier, territory and a political border where people have lived, crossed, explored, defended and fortified throughout the centuries.

The museum is organised in three separate sections:

• ”Fortress Museum and Defensive Walls”
• ”The Fortified Alps (1871-1946)”
• ”The Alps, a frontier?”

Fortress Museum and Defensive Walls
A tour of this first section outfitted in the Opera Ferdinando Superiore makes it possible for guests to fully experience a series of historical settings furnished with models, film clips and authentic weapons. The narrative development highlights the evolution of forts in the Western Alps through the progression of military weapons and strategies as well as construction materials and techniques from the time of the Romans up to the new architectural and ballistic solutions of the 20th century.
Guests are launched into a different era as they go from room to room thanks to explanatory devices enhanced by original maps and clips of famous film sequences of war scenes such as: Kingdom of Heaven (Ridley Scott, 2005); Masada (Boris Sagal, 1981); The Profession of Arms (Ermanno Olmi, 2001); Alatriste (Augustin Diaz Yanks, 2006); The Last Valley (James Clavell, 1971); Revolution (Hugh Hudson, 1985); The Last of the Mohicans ( Michael Mann, 1992); Glory (Edward Zwick, 1989); Cold Mountain (Anthony Minghella, 2003).

The Fortified Alps (1871-1946)
The second portion of the museum is located in the Opera Ferdinando Inferiore and is dedicated to the transformations that took place between the late 19th and 20th centuries. The Bard Fortress is included in the system of 19th century forts and is presented through scenic reconstructions and scale models for the purpose of the highlighting the most representative traits of forts found throughout the Alps and to showcase these mountains as the very stage for the technological transformation that has made them “the Italian frontier”. A tale of the evolution of fortresses through the progression of weapons (and vice-versa). The change in construction materials and techniques, the gradual thickening of the walls, the placement of forts in areas that had become increasingly dominant as well as the development of strategic methods and architectural solutions. All of this is constantly linked to the offensive ability of the enemy and the possibility of a break through on the part of blockading armies.
The question of militarized mountains is explored in the sections dedicated to the First and Second World Wars and the Resistance, enhanced by the evocative impact provided by a multi-media approach.

The Alps, a frontier?
The third and final section asks a question that puts visitors in the condition of thinking about the itinerary they have just concluded and the true meaning of the term “frontier”: boundary or barrier? Obstacle or bridge?
The exhibit itinerary articulates and conveys a complex and well-structured view of the Bard Fortress as well as a historical, social, cultural and geo-political context that includes perspectives from different historical eras: a journey into the past which ends with an extremely timely reflection upon our own days.
In this way, guests become the main players in the exchange with the place they are visiting. They are on a quest for the identity of the constantly evolving Alps – the crossroads of great events of the past as well as the history of mankind made up of simple actions and memories.

Located on the first floor of the Opera Carlo Alberto , the most important building of the spectacular Bard Fortress compound, the Museum of the Alps is an interactive, multimedia and multidisciplinary journey, an avant-garde museum space telling the story of a living, breathing mountain transformed in the hands of mankind.
The exhibition space consists of twenty-nine rooms divided into four parts, involving the visitor in the discovery of the Alps through short video projections outlining the themes covered in each of the four sections and narrated by four specialists: a naturalist, a geographer, an anthropologist and a meteorologist.
Tradition and modern technology are fused together to take you on a voyage into time and space where the sets are brought alive through visual projections, sounds and interactive multimedia games. A process of discovery in which the visitor becomes the protaganist like the leading character in an exciting novel and is called upon to use all the five senses, offering an extremely enjoyable learning experience that plunges you deep into the alpine culture.

The journey begins with an ascent to the summit, and images of highland scenery. The heart-warming ‘‘mountain symphony’‘ accompanies you around the museum.

Touch the altitude : the introduction is an inviting video installation by artist Armin Linke that creates the visions and sounds of the pastures, tunnels, slopes and high-tech skiers. ‘‘Saliamo in montagna!’‘ (’‘Up we go!’‘) is the invitation in the ‘‘gallery of voices’‘: a kaleidoscope of Alpine languages, welcoming you to the museum.

Listen to the passing seasons : it makes you feel like stroking the legendary Dahu, the animal with two short legs to adapt to the mountain slopes, former evidence of the amazing biodiversity of the alpine environment. Clips, 3D models, short films and touch screens show you the climate, the short highland seasons, the plants and the tenacious inhabitants of the mountains.

Fly like an eagle among the peaks : a 3D video carries the visitor on the breathtaking flight of the eagle from the summit of Mount Blanc, over the picturesque landscape of Val d’Aosta, among glaciers, waterfalls and castles, over the fortress in Bard.

Walk on the Tethys Ocean : the geography room has a spectacular interactive map which takes you on a walk through the Alps; the most famous and spectacular summits are represented in the orogeny room, a journey back in time, among the lava explosions generated by fire and the marine undertows that gave rise to the Dolomites.

Dance in a carnival of voices and colours : the reconstruction of the stable, the parlour, the school and several interactive films tell the story of Alpine civilisation and the culture linked to work, the mill and the mine. Then get involved in a joyful dance celebration at the end of winter, festivals and colourful mountain carnival, ‘‘lanzette’‘ processions - typical Val d’Aosta masks - or in the dances of the ‘‘wild man’‘.

Conquer the summit like a mountain climber : lastly, a journey into the romantic experience of nineteenth-century mountaineers, on the quest for the impenetrable summits, and then a train trip with ski tourists ready to take to the slopes. A multiform mountain to be discovered and experienced with a passion.

A multimedia tale : the voice of a ‘‘witness’‘, the naturalist, the geographers, the anthropologist, the meteorologist relates the theme of 6 sections of the museum from a screen in every room.

A symphony of sounds and colours : video projections and sounds give life to the scenery, reconstructions, multimedia and interactive games to educate, amuse and immerge in Alpine culture. These videos guide visitors through this fascinating exploration.

Completely redone in 2023, this space devoted to getting to know the mountains, dedicated to children and families, offers a series of scientific workshops, within the Opera Vittorio, on the topic of climate change and the impact it is having on glaciers throughout the world.

Each room allows the visitor to learn about the four most important peaks in Valle d’ Aosta - Monte Rosa, The Matterhorn, Gran Paradiso and Mont Blanc - and the conditions of the glacial areas of each one through a series of photographic comparisons. Each room also presents a geological and scientific theme that can be explored in depth via recreational activities and workshops.

The place also hosts the Ice Memory installation with various stations that use augmented reality to talk about the state of health of the glaciers and to involve young people in understanding the dynamics linked to climate warming and to promote the adoption of sustainable behaviour.

The space can be used freely by purchasing an entrance ticket to Fort Bard.

Workshops addressed to schools and groups can be carried out for a fee upon reservation.

Located within the Carlo Alberto Building , the cramped cells of the Bard fortress in which prisoners were held, house today a history tour that leads visitors on the search for the story behind this military site, a centuries-old strategic transition point. Through films, documents and evocative 3D reconstructions, visitors can familiarise themselves with the architectural development of the fortress and know the individuals who characterised its main historical events from the year 1000, through its reconstruction in 1830, to the present day.
Visitor’s tour
The Prisons are comprised of 24 cells, all extremely small in size (around 1.3 × 2 metres), arranged along four sections and preceded by an entrance gallery which was dedicated to the iconographic representation of the Fort: The atrium screens a film about the complex restoration and reconstruction work performed on the Fort between 1996 and 2006.
From here, the visitor enters four rooms of the first section , where different stations characterised by three-dimensional models represent the Fort’s transformation through the various epochs: Roman, Medieval, 1500s and 1600s, and 1700s. In the subsequent spaces, a film gives voice to those who experienced one of the most important historical episodes in the history of the Fort: the siege of Napoleon’s troops.
In the second section , Napoleon Bonaparte, the French general Berthier, and the Austrian captain Bernkopf, reveal the offensive and defensive strategies of the bitter battle fought in the spring of 1800. The tour is enlivened by projections of drawings from the topographer and painter Pietro Bagetti, and by the writings of Stendhal, privileged witnesses to the Bard history.
The third part of the tour presents the testimony of the captain of the Military Engineering services, Francesco Antonio Olivero, to whom Charles Felix of Savoy had entrusted the reconstruction of the Fort after Napoleon’s passing. Images and documents are projected inside a cell: an 1829 relief of the Fort and a project from 1830 show how Olivero exploited all the strategic peculiarities of the location, designing many overlapping buildings in order to increase lines of fire. The works were completed in just eight years.
The fourth section ’s protagonist is Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, luxury ‘prisoner’ during the reconstruction. In 1831, he was tasked with overseeing the works: despite the fact that the task would have elicited enthusiasm in anyone else, for Cavour it was a punishing experience, a ‘moral prison’ that he later defined as ‘exile’. Within the section there are also several objects from daily life in the Fort. A set recreates the typical atmosphere of a cell, while a panelling on a wall shows the garrisons which were stationed one after another at the Fort and the reproductions of several paintings by Quinto Cenni. On two screens, a film made in collaboration with the Archive of the Military Engineering of Rome allows visitors to discover the results of research regarding the soldiers present in the Fort over the years.
In the last room, the decline and rebirth of the Fort during the course of the 1900s is retraced by means of an interview with Ferdinando Jacquemet, a living witness able to recount the last chapter of the Bard story. The tour concludes with the projection of an animation tracing the development of military settlements within the Bard Fort from the year 1000 to the present day.
The tour is combined with the opportunity to participate in four teaching workshops , conducted depending on the age of the students, from infant school to lower secondary school.