I met the owners of the B&B this morning. It is the family home, and has been a B&B since his father died. It is beautifully renovated and a pleasant stay. Breakfast was also excellent. Living in Scandinavia the overwhelming position on the Russian-Ukraine war is that the Russians are the aggressors. The owners have often visited Scandinavia and were very surprised about the Scandinavian’s position regarding the war. The owner was of the opinion that Russia had every right to Ukraine, that Russia should have been given Ukraine before it was necessary to invade, the west are the aggressors, the hybrid war is western propaganda and Putin is a trustworthy person. This isn’t relevant to walking, but left me in a state of surprise that people in the west held this position and I started the day a bit shell shocked.
When planning today was one of the highlights of this autumn’s walk, Forte di Bard, the entrance to the Aosta valley, perched high above the Dora Baltea river in a narrow gorge, and was an important post for controlling traffic between Italy and France. On May 14, 1800, a 40,000-strong French army was stopped by 400 Austro-Piedmontese soldiers at Fort Bard. They held the pass for two weeks, completely ruining Napoleon Bonaparte’s plan of making a surprise attack on the Po Valley and Turin. It was razed to the ground and not rebuilt until 1830, fearing new attacks from France. It was restored in 2006 and today houses a hotel and museums.
However, before reaching Fort Bard I had a 28km day with 900m of elevation, much of it to get up to the Fort. It was again a beautiful sunny day and hot day, with temperatures expected to be close to 40c. The meteorological office had issued a heat warning. One of the things I noticed today were arrows with F below pointing in the same direction I am walking. I have no idea what the F represents.
I walked back across the river and headed north. After leaving town, I started to climb, up to Lago Sirio, and a very nice residential area. The climb wasn’t too strenuous, but the first climb on this trip, and of course was followed by a downhill walk towards the outskirts of Montalto Dora. A mix of forest paths and roads brought me to Borgofranco d’Ivrea, a larger town famous for its cellars or Balmetti, which are real natural cellars carved out of the moraine rock, perfect for storing wine, but also cheese due to their constant temperature all year around.
Leaving town, it was long stretches on roads towards Castello Montestrutto, a privately owned castle overlooking the village of the same name. I met a few walkers on the way from Australia, New Zealand (2) and a couple from Switzerland. A steep and rough climb followed by great views along the valley. I met more walkers from Italy, Switzerland and Germany.
I took a break at the church in Settimo Vitona, next to a water fountain, used by more walkers and cyclists whilst I rested my feet.
It was back down into the valley, looking up at all the vineyards lining the mountain. This area is famous for many small vineyards and due to the mountains, all work on the grapes is manual. This area is the smallest winemaking area in Italy and the highest elevated in all of Europe. It is a very impressive sight.
I stayed in the valley for several kilometers, mostly on small back roads before climbing through the vineyards to Carema, with a water fountain dating back to the 16th century and along a ledge towards Capella di San Roco – perched high over the valley with the Italian and local flag flapping in the wind. The views were spectacular. A lady was lying next to the Chapel, and she was so still and her face as res as a beetroot, that I was concerned for her. I asked her if she was OK, and she told me she was, but was a bit knocked out by the climb and heat.
The walk down from the chapel was indeed steep, so I took a detour into Pont-Saint-Martin and the local supermarket for a drink and some bread and fruit. I passed through the centre of Pont-Saint-Martin named after its single arched roman bridge, built in the 4th century. The bridge is linked to a legend where St Martin, stranded on the Lys by a flood that swept away the footbridge, made a pact with the devil who promised him to build a solid stone bridge overnight, in exchange for the soul of whoever crossed it first. Once completed, the cunning St Martin tricked the devil by making a small dog walk on the bridge.
Four more kilometers along a pavement to Donnas, still admiring the vineyards and views towards the Alps.
After Donnas, I started the climb towards the Forte. I was helped by 4 elevators/funicular, starting in the village of Bard, which take you up to the top of the fort, and the hotel I was staying (where a 5th elevator, took me to my floor). The views from the fort are stunning, and you can really see how 400 men could keep 40.000 at bay.
After a rest and shower, I took the elevators down to the village to get something to eat and see the fort light up at night.
