Heritage: Quart

The “Casaforte di Povil” originally belonged to the lords of Quart.

It was purchased in the second half of the fourteenth century by Jean-Michel Piquart, lord of the manor of Quart at the time and a member of the La Tour family of Courmayeur, who died during the second half of the seventeenth century. Their assets were transferred in 1680 to Carlo Filippo Perrone, baron of Quart.

What today looks like a rural house still reveals its original fortified structure and various architectural elements testify to its ancient function.
To the east, the tower has carved stone windows and an arched door.

The tower flanks the arched ogival portal at the entrance to the courtyard, which the main house looks out onto. Two carved stone windows and the door surmounted by a panel with the Piquart de La Tour coat of arms and the date 1627 are worth noting.

The castle is a set of buildings arranged within a fortified perimeter, which respects the natural contour of a difficult rocky slope.
The donjon standing on the highest point of the rock, the functional layout of individual buildings, the chapel and the winding passageways, are evidence of an early or Germanic fortified structure, although current architectural evidence point to more recent periods, as do the first narrative sources, which suggest its origins go back to the end of the 12th century (around 1185). After the death of Henry of Quart in 1377, the castle and fiefdom went to the Savoys, who sold it to Philibert Laschis in 1550, who in turn sold it almost immediately to the Balbis. In the 17th century, the castle belonged first to Count Nicholas Coardo and then to the Perrone of San Martino, who gave it the Municipality of Quart in 1800.

Restauration works

Today we will observe the manifestations of two phenomena. The first, which is associated with the great glaciation of the past, left evident traces of glacial morphology, among which, the roche moutonée, characterised by its stripes and its typical shape, and the erratic boulders, rocky blocks transported by the glacier and deposited here during the withdrawal phase. The second phenomenon occurred during a subsequent period, and is known among the scientific community as “deep slope gravitative deformation”. In the presence of determined conditions of instability (which still exist), the slope is subject to a very slow, slightly downward slipping, causing cracks in the rock, evident deformations and deep trenches.

To this context, which is exemplary from a geological-geomorphological point of view, we should add noteworthy cultural aspects, such as the rock art that finds its expression here in the “coppelle” incisions on the roche moutonée, and the neolithic necropolis, which is one of the richest and most significant of its kind in the Aosta Valley.

The necropolis, which was discovered in 1968 near the village of the same name, stands in the most depressed area of the roche moutonée. The archaeological digs brought 66 cist tombs to light, that is, tombs shaped like a stone drawer protruding from the land, consisting of four upright slabs and a covering slab placed over the sides of the tomb. Today, most of the tombs have been covered, three of them remain visible. Nearby, about 20 meters west of the tombs, the rock carvings are also visible.
More information on the archaeological aspects with 3D images can be found on the website https://digitavollein.eu/

The visit to the geological site also offers a stupendous balcony over the central valley.

How to get there:

From the Nus exit of the A5 motorway, take the S.S. 26. Near the entrance to the road for Chetoz, on the right is the Quarry of La Plantaz.
To reach Vollein, from the Chetoz crossroads, proceed on the right in the direction of Séran, then towards Pillod. Having reached the first crossroads, take the road for Argnod, Vignil on the right, until you reach the inhabited area of Vollein.

Technical notes:
Altitude: between 500 m and 900 m
Overall duration of the tour: 1/2 day
Recommended period: spring, summer, autumn, in winter the itinerary is also practicable in the absence of snow.

The itinerary:
Having parked the car near the inhabited area of Vollein, go back on foot for a distance of approximately 200 m; walk down along a trail marked off by a wooden fence towards a depressed area that will allow you to cross the main trench by going left. From here, it is possible to reach the central part of the rise where the roche moutonnée area is situated with the erratic boulders, the necropolis and the areas that are more intensely pervaded by large cracks.
Although the latter two preferential observation points have been identified, there are erratic boulders and cracks throughout the area and therefore moving observation is required.

We recommend that you visit this site at sunset.