The itineraries of the Latin Alps

The bridges of Haute-Savoie are ancient evidence of man’s routes. In order to protect such an important architectural heritage of the Franco-Italian Alps, the bridges of Haute-Savoie are at the center of a process of safeguarding and enhancing, within the Alcotra project.

Just say the word “lavender” and close your eyes. The image that immediately comes to mind is the endless lilac fields kissed by the sun. To immerse ourselves in that ideal postcard that we all know well we head to the symbolic place of Provence: the Valensole valley .

A walk in the sun takes us to visit the main attractions of the fifth city of France.

One of the Italian regions richest in artistic beauty is also one of the most flourishing for flavors and vines: there are more than 20 vines native to Piedmont.

The route around the small rocky tooth called “Dent du Ratier” at 2,660 meters above sea level takes 25 hours to walk. This itinerary surrounds the west of Queyras and can be done from mid-May to late October. Especially in autumn, the landscapes express all their changing chromatic beauty, when light floods the larches. It is an easy walk, therefore suitable for many enthusiasts and newbies eager to discover the landscapes and villages of the Queyras Regional Nature Park.

A tradition handed down from generation to generation, the quality of the raw material and the most stringent controls, these are the main ingredients of the delicious Savoie cheese. Over 2,000 producers, more than 325 million kilos of milk, 60 cooperatives and 340 dairy farms. These numbers already tell a story of commitment and dedication that makes cheese the undisputed protagonist of these areas.

It is enough to go just 20 kilometers from Aosta to take a step back in time of over 6,000 years. We head to the archaeological site of Vollein, which on a rocky slope dominates the central valley crossed by Dora Baltea. The area today seems uninhabited but if we imagined being here in the Middle Neolithic, between 4,600 and 4,300 BC, we would notice small funeral processions directed towards a necropolis. Archaeologists who have brought this sacred place to light excavated and discovered the burials that are still kept underground today. The project “Scoprire per promuovere“ was created to give credit to the archaeological site of Vollein and enhance the importance that this place assumed in the past millennia. Today, thanks to new surveys, the information already known has been verified and the tombstones have been transported to the warehouses of the Superintendence to preserve their conservation.

Exploring France in the footsteps of Napoleon, along the so-called “route de Napoléon”, is one of the most famous and fascinating trips.

A trip to the Aosta Valley is not only an opportunity to immerse yourself in nature but an original way to learn about the traditions, language and customs of an ancient Germanic population, the Walsers.

Our journey starts from the Saint Martin de Sallanches bridge, an iconic place represented in all its possible perspectives by 19th-century prints, then goes up the course of the Arve river, along the right bank, to reach, after Passy, the wide plain that once, before the Romans, was said to be occupied by the town of Dionysia.