Verrès to Pont-Saint-Martin
The Via Francigena from Verrès to Pont-Saint-Martin primarily runs alongside the Dora Baltea River, although it does cross over it a couple of times along the way. The good news was that it was relatively flat with only a few obligatory climbs and descents.
The Bard Fortress in Borgo Di Bard
The highlight of the day was seeing the Bard Fortress. I had seen photos of it in Aosta, but I didn’t know it was on the route of the Via Francigena.
The fort sits on a prominent rock uprising in a narrow gorge of the Dora Baltea River. A manned fort was first constructed on the site by Theodoric I, King of the Visigoths, in the 5th century. Roman soldiers were garrisoned there in the 6th century, and a castle was built on the site in the 10th century. Control of the Bard was eventually handed over to the House of Savoy in the 13th century. They built the current fortifications between 1830 and 1838.
In 1800, when Napoleon was attempting his surprise attack on the Austrians in the Po Valley and Turin, 400 Austrian soldiers in the Bard held off Napoleon’s 40,000 troops for two weeks, thereby ruining Napoleon’s plans for a surprise attack. That so infuriated Napoleon that he ordered the fort to be razed to the ground. In 1830, The House of Savoy feared new attacks from the French and they began reconstruction of the fort.
The arched bridge that crosses the Dora Baltea River in front of the Bard is Roman, although its exact age is uncertain. Curiously, the river bed was once much wider, and three smaller arches of the bridge are buried.
More Cowbell!
As I was looking through my photos, I ran across this video I shot as I was crossing a pasture on the way to the Great St. Bernard Pass (near Bourg-St.-Pierre). It has nothing to do with anything else in today’s post. The cowbells are just soothing.
The Roman road between Borgo di Bard and Donnas
Immediately upon leaving Borgo di Bard, the trail descends steeply toward the valley floor. Sections of the trail are along the original Roman road, the Via delle Gallie. Shortly before entering Donnas, the trail follows 221 meters of the road that has been carved into the cliff face. The tracks of chariots and carts are clearly carved into the road, which eventually passes through a 4-meter-high archway carved out of the cliff face. It is genuinely astonishing work that has survived for 2,000 years.
The Romans chose to carve the road directly into the cliff face because they were building it along the Dora Baltea, and they wanted it to be halfway up the mountain to avoid flooding. The route, though, was interrupted by a rocky promontory that the Romans simply decided to carve their way through.
In addition to the Roman archway, Donnas is recognized for the “Donnas”, a prized red wine produced from terraced vineyards surrounding the village. Interestingly, it seems that beekeeping is more of an integral part of vineyards in Italy than it was in France.
Pont-Saint-Martin to Ivrea
Pont-Saint-Martin has its own impressive, namesake Roman bridge, which served the town for 2,000 years until a modern bridge was constructed in the 19th century to accommodate increased traffic.
While walking through Pont-Saint-Martin on the way to Ivrea, I ran into four German men coming out of their hotel with packs on. They are longtime friends from a village near Düsseldorf, who are walking the Via Francigena in annual two-week increments. They know each other from playing German folk music together several times each month.
Late in the afternoon as I was trudging up the mountain on which the 12th – 17th century Castello di Montalto Dora looks over the surrounding countryside, I met a group of people in a small park. It turns out they were members of the local support group for the Via Francigena, and they were there for their regular meeting. They insisted, though, that I have some water and they gave me a pin and invited me to stop by their booth in the city center of Ivrea the next morning to get my pilgrim’s passport stamped. Two of the people I met had painted all the wonderful pilgrim silhouette trail markers I had enjoyed for the last 50kms or so. They were happy to meet a pilgrim, and I was happy to meet and be able to thank good people who work hard to support the Via Francigena. It really is marvelous how generous with their time and resources so many people are with no expectation of return to themselves other than the satifacation of helping.
Next up: Ivrea to Viverone
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2 Responses
Rule One: do not upset Napoleon’s Plans
Glad I was not a soldier in his army. I wonder if these Roman bridges are ever inspected by an engineer for safety. The one that crosses the river has to be weaker after all the years. Hope you sampled that special Donnas wine. What condition would the Via be in if not for volunteers? These lovely little towns are special. Their streets are so narrow. We would never know them if not for your pictures. A castle in every town.
Their cross bred cattle look just like ours, but we don’t use cow bells. Do you see any signs of water wells & towers for these little towns? As for power, I suppose the lines are buried. Time to get used to Italian chow. That may be higher octane than Swiss served up.
I keep wondering what happened to those brave Austrian soldiers. I have a feeling they weren’t sent to a POW camp back in France….
I have read that there are regular structural inspections of the active bridges, and I think they have a pretty good system for inspecting most of the other significant structures since keeping them in good condition has significant benefits to them both economically and culturally.
As for water, I think the mountain villages and cities are able to hide their water tanks up in the hills so that they don’t have to have a tower, and I think most of the water comes from springs, rivers, and reservoirs. There are major transmission lines, but they do seem to have fewer power poles and lines in the villages. I’m guessing that it was easier to bury them than to find places for poles where the streets are narrow and sidewalks are already limited.
I haven’t tried the Donna wine yet, but I will try to find some today, and I’ll report back. It’s a tough job, but I think I’m up for it!
The Via Francigena is entirely a volunteer effort. There may be a few paid staff members at the highest level, but for the most part, it’s local volunteers keeping up their section of the trail. That can lead to uneven maintenance and signage, but it’s still amazing what good people can do collectively.