Le Bouquet - Cogne/Gressoney Valley

Cogne-Gressoney Valley
From Cogne to Aosta and then, along the n° 26 main road towards Turin, passing through Quart, Nus, Châtillon, Saint-Vincent with its Casino and its spa, Montjovet and its XI cy. castle, Verrès with the XIV cy. famous manor, Arnad and the Romanesque church, Bard with its medieval fortress destroyed by Napoleon's troops, Donnas and the vineyards and finally Pont-Saint-Martin with the bold Roman bridge dating back to the I cy. b.C.
The Gressoney Valley begins here (it is also called Lys Valley, from the name of its flowing river).
First, you meet Lillianes (665m) with an arched medieval bridge. Afterwards, a village called Fontainemore (760m) having a medieval bridge, too. Every two years, a famous procession starts here and goes to the Oropa's sanctuary, passing through the Colle della Balma di Oropa. Moving on, you meet Issime, where you can admire the parish church' wonderful façade characterized by a XVII cy. fresco representing the Last Judgement. Issime makes part of the Walser linguistic area, while the following village, Gaby (1045m) belongs to the French-Provençal area. At 1385m there is Gressoney-Saint-Jean, from where you can see the Mont Rose, the second mountain of the Alps. Here, the harmonious architecture feels the effects of the Walser style.
The last inhabited village is Gressoney-La-Trinité (1624m), renowned summer and winter resort. Just to the end of the valley there is Stafal, an important cableway junction towards the Colle di Bettaforca and the Gabiet lake.