At Verrex there is a convent of Augustines.

Above the town the valley widens, and the little plain of the Doire shows the destruction which the torrent brings with it, in the sands and rocks left in evidence of its destructive violence in the spring.

About a league and a half beyond Verrex the road enters upon one of the most remarkable scenes in the valley -a deep ravine, through which the Doire has cut its way, or found such a gulf its natural channel. The road ascends steeply on the left of the river, and is cut out of the rock, in some places overhanging the foaming torrent, and where the rock equally overhangs the traveller. These rocks are surmounted by the ruins of the château of St. Germains, placed so as effectually to command the pass, when the brigand feudal proprietors robbed and maltreated the unfortunate passer-by. These ruins are an improvement in the morale as well as the picturesque.

The road cut out in so remarkable a way was probably a Roman work. It was some time since repaired by the Augustine monks of St. Bernard, as a tablet on the road records, but by a little manoeuvre of Charles Emanuel III., king of Sardinia, in adding a bit above and a bit below, he has taken a large share of the credit to himself. It stands thus:

CAROLI EMANUELIS III. SARDINIE
REGIS P. F. INVICTI AUCTORITATE
INTENTATAM ROMANIS VIAM
PER ASPERA MONTIS IOVIS IUGA
AD FACILIOREM COMMERCIORUM
ET THERMARUM USUM
MAGNIS IMPENSIS PATEFACTAM

Cité as Aosta is called. The wine in the neighbourhood of Mount Jovet is celebrated.

Nothing can exceed the beauty and richness of the scenery, and the magnificent character of the foliage; the walnut and chestnut trees are celebrated for their grandeur and picturesqueness.

Before arriving at St. Vincent, a singular bridge over a deep ravine is crossed. It is called the Pont des Sarasins, and by antiquaries is recognised as a Roman work. From its parapet one of the most beautiful scenes in the valley is presented on looking up towards Châtillon, and including among its objects the Château d'Usselle and other ruins. Not far from this bridge is the agreeable village of St. Vincent, where there are mineral springs. About a league above is

Châtillon, which was mentioned in Route 106. The distance from Verrex to this place is about 4 leagues.

Above Châtillon the same fine rich character of scenery prevails, only interrupted by the occasional traces of destruction left by the torrents which in the spring rush down from the lateral valleys to fall into the great drain of this district, the Doire.

About a league above Châtillon is the village of Chambave, celebrated for its wine, one of the richest and most recherché in Piedmont. The wine of the Val d'Aosta has a great reputation, and the vine is cultivated on the mountain sides to an elevation of 3000 feet above the level of the sea. In the valley, hemp, Indian corn and fruit trees, fill the plain like a vast garden.

Nuz, a poor village with the ruins of a château, is nearly halfway between Châtillon and Aosta. Before arriving at Nuz, a valley on the right bank of the Doire, is seen to run up to the ridge of mountains which separates the valley of Aosta above Mont Jovet, from the valley of Champorcher. At the entrance of this

valley is the picturesque château of Fenis. Above Nuz the road passes through the village of Villefranche.

In front of the inns in the road up the Val d'Aosta it is a common custom to trellice vines quite across the road; the delicious shelter which this affords to the heated and weary traveller must be enjoyed to be fully valued in this part of the valley the custom is most general.

On the approach to Aosta the château Quart is seen placed high on the mountain side; a path leads up to it from near Villefranche, and down on the other side of its glen towards Aosta, so that a visit to it requires no retracing of steps, and the beautiful scenes presented in the ascent and at the château deserve the trouble of climbing there. Little more than a league further up the valley is

-

AOSTA, a city more interesting for its antiquities and historical associations than any other claim it has to importance. Its situation is indeed strikingly beautiful, near the confluence of the Buttier and the Doire, in a deep rich valley, surrounded by lofty and snow-capped mountains. The Civitas Augusti - or Augusta Prætoria claims a much higher antiquity. It was known under the name of Cordèle, as the chief city of the Salassi its history earlier than its conquest by Terrentius Varro, a general of Augustus, is fabulous, but the antiquary of Aosta has no difficulty in fixing the date of its foundation 406 before that of Rome, 1158 B. c. By the army of the emperor it was taken 24 years before the Christian era, and its inhabitants reduced to miserable captivity. Augustus rebuilt the city, gave his own name to it, and established there 3000 soldiers from the Prætorian cohorts. The remains of large public buildings attest its importance at that time. A triumphal arch in tolerable preservation is one of the finest of the remains nearly one fourth of it is buried in soil brought down by the torrent of

277

the Buttier, near to which it is situated. Across this river there is a Roman bridge, now nearly buried in the soil accumulated around it during so many ages. There is also a remarkable gate or port, having two façades, with a quadrangle between them, each façade composed of three arches-that in the centre is much the largest. There are also the ruins of an Amphitheatre, of a barracks or Prætorian palace, towers, walls, and fragments of unknown former appropriation, now serving only to perplex antiquaries.

Aosta is the seat of a bishop under the archbishop of Chamberry. A military commandant is also stationed here, and a numerous establishment of official inspectors; fiscal, sanitory, &c.; a tribunal of justice, a royal college, an hospital for the military, and another for the poor.

Anselm, the notorious archbishop of Canterbury in the 11th century was born at Aosta.

St. Bernard, whose name is immortally associated with the mountain pass from the valley of the Rhone to the valley of the Doire, was archdeacon of Aosta ; and his knowledge, from his situation, of the exposure and sufferings of those who traversed these regions, led to his establishment of the celebrated hospice, upon the permanent footing it has since held, and left him to be remembered as the "Apostle of the Alps."

The cathedral is deserving of a visit, though it has no high antiquity.

There is a column erected to commemorate the flight of Calvin from the city in 1541, with the following inscription :

HANC

CALVINI FUGI

EREXIT ANNO MDXLI RELIGIONIS CONSTANTIA REPARAVIT

ANNO MDCCXLI.

The inns at Aosta are now generally good, but the post, or Eçu de Vallais, and the Couronne, are excellent,

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for cleaness, comfort, and accommodation. A diligence passes between Aosta and Turin, going three times a week, and returning the alternate days and chars may be had in all the intermediate towns.

The inhabitants of the Pays d'Aosta speak French almost universally, especially in the upper part of the valley above Aosta; this, too, is generally the case in those valleys which lead by the passes of the Alps to the frontiers of Savoy and France. inhabitants of these upper valleys, bear a much better character than those who live near the plains of Piedmont.

The

The difficulties about distances in Piedmont, alluded to in the introduction to this section, is nowhere more strongly felt than in this route to the Val d'Aosta from Turin. With maps, post-books, descriptions of the valley, and the latest authority

the

"Dizionario Geografico Storico, statistico-commerciale degli stati di S. M. il re de Sardegna," and the last "Carta Corografica delle Divisioni di Torino e di Aosta, published by authority of the government, before us, neither distances nor measures can be reconciled. Whether the miles are geographical, 60 to a degree, or of Piedmont, 40 to a degree, is not mentioned; and no measures from the scales of three of the best maps will agree with either of the quantities described in the three best works, which ought to be of authority since they are sanctioned by the government, so that the distances named can only be approximations.

The valley of Aosta, more perhaps than any other in Piedmont, is afflicted in a horrid degree with crétinism and goître; from Châtillon to Villeneuve this blight seems to have fallen most heavily. Brockedon says, "Nowhere are goître and crétinism more prevalent than in this beautiful valley. The peasantry appear squalid and filthy, a race of beings generally stunted and diseased. Of the whole

population in the neighbourhood of Aosta, one in fifty is a crétin; and above half are more or less goîtred. Some of these are horrid objects. Tumours as large as their heads are appended to their throats, varying in number, size, and colour. The dirt, deformity, and imbecility of the inhabitants of this part of the valley, presented a scene so wretched, that it harrowed our feelings. Not a welldressed or decent-looking person is to be met with: all bear marks of poverty, disease, and wretchedness; and this, too, amidst scenes for which nature has done so much. Surrounded by mountains, and high in their own locality, we saw nothing of the lightness, activity, and high spirits of the mountaineer. Something weighs upon the people like a curse. Many conjectures have been offered upon the cause of goîtres and crétinism. Labour, food, water, air, have all been offered in explanation; but none of these account for it satisfactorily. The opinion of our guide was, that it was chiefly owing to the villainously dirty habits of the people most afflicted with it. He said that among the mountaineers this was the general opinion; and though it sometimes descended in families, and often was observed in infancy, yet it might be traced to the filthy habits of preceding generations."

On leaving this city to ascend the valley, the drive for about four miles lies through the open plain of the Val d'Aosta, and through scenes of its greatest richness in vegetation. At this distance from Aosta the road passes beneath the château Sarra, an unpicturesque structure; nearly opposite to it, on the other side of the valley, is a queer building in villainous taste, the château of Aimaville, situated on a knoll in a commanding position, and thrusting its impudent pretensions into notice as if it were a work of high refinement.

Sarra is about halfway from Aosta to Villeneuve. Between these places

the road passes, near to the latter place, through St. Pierre, where there is one of the most picturesque châteaux in the valley. Soon after leaving St. Pierre, a fine scene is presented in the approach to Villeneuve, where the vast rock above the town is seen surmounted by the Châtel d'Argent, and beyond, the snowy Alps at the head of the Val Savaranche. About a mile from St. Pierre the road turns towards the river, which it crosses by a stone bridge to reach the little town of

Villeneuve, where there is nothing of interest, and where the inn offers poor accommodation ; it is too near

Aosta to induce the owners to make it more agreeable in the hope of detaining travellers. Near to Villeneuve, the valleys of the Savaranche, and the Rhèmes, open almost together from the south, into the valley of the Doire. Above Villeneuve the valley narrows and becomes much more wooded, the walnut trees forming in some places almost a forest, especially near

Arvier, about 4 miles above Villeneuve. Here the vineyards are celebrated, every slope being terraced and vines planted. A little beyond Arvier is the dirty narrow village of

Ivrogne. Until within two or three years this village was almost a barrier to the passage of carriages up the valley, from the steepness and narrowness of its principal street. Now, however, this is altogether avoided; a new bridge is made over the torrent of the Grisanche, and a good road is carried behind the town and falls into the old road above it, where this enters on the road cut out of Fort Roc, which has also been widened, and a good road is now carried through the defile which separates what is considered a distinction in the valley- the Val d'Aosta from the valley of La Salle

Here the road rises hundreds of feet above the bed of the Doire, which is

Val d'Aosta Fort Roc. 279

seen foaming below through its restrained course; and from the summit of this pass, Mont Blanc at the head of the valley closes the scene with its masses as a magnificent barrier. The view is strikingly beautiful. The road, thus carried over the precipices, crosses in some places deep rifts in the mountain side; over these chasms, platforms are placed, which, being removed, would cut off all communication by this road, and oblige an army to make a considerable détour to descend by other points into the Val d'Aosta. A peep over the

parapet wall, or through the platforms into the depth below, excites a shudder.

From Fort Roc the road descends rapidly to the Doire, which it crosses on a wooden bridge, and thence continues on the left bank to

La Salle. Before arriving at this village there is a fine view of Mont Blanc and the valley presented, as the road passes into a deep ravine to cross a torrent near its head; thence winding round on the other side of this ravine, it rapidly descends upon La Salle, a dirty narrow village, where, however, the name is preserved of the ancient people of this valley, the Salassi. On a hill near La Salle are the ruins of an old feudal castle ; there are many traces of its high antiquity found in and about the village. From Ivrogne to La Salle is about nine English miles; thence to

Morgex, by a steep and rather narrow road, is about three miles. Nearly opposite to Morgex, it is in contemplation by the Sardinian government to form a good approach by the camp of Prince Thomas to La Tuille, and the pass of the Little St. Bernard. One of the most important benefits which the government could confer upon its subjects in the Val d'Aosta, and the Tarentaise. Morgex two or three little inns have been lately built.

At

From Morgex, the road up the

valley is better than that between La Salle and Morgex, and at the distance of a league a branch of the road descends to cross the Doire, and leads to the village and baths of St. Didier. Through the former the road to the Little St. Bernard passes, and about a league from the branch road to St. Didier, the traveller enters

Cormayeur, where he will find in the Albergo del Angelo a capital inn and a good table-d'hôte, for a situation so far removed from the resources required for such an establishment, which must be brought from the lower valley, or even the plains. During the summer, many persons enjoy, en pension, this beautiful retreat in the finest part of the Alps.

Cormayeur, though considered as the head of the Val d'Aosta, is in reality in the Val d'Entrèves; it is a large village with many good houses, situated near the confluence of the two branches of the Doire which descend from the Col de Ferret and the Col de la Seigne. At the foot of the southern side of Mont Blanc to which it approximates so nearly, that the glaciers and snowy crests of the great chain appear to hang over the valley. From the village, the summit of Mont Blanc is concealed by the Mont Dolina, but half an hour's walk discloses the chain from the "Monarch" to the grand Jorasse. That part of the chain seen from the village to close the valley includes the remarkable peak of the Géant, and the whole course of the path, by which the passage may be made by the Col de Géant to Chamouny, is, on the side of Piedmont, to be traced from Cormayeur. This excursion, fatiguing and difficult, is seldom made. Mrs. Campbell, however, and her daughter, English ladies, crossed from Chamouny to Cormayeur, in company with a dozen guides, in the summer of 1823; an adventure not yet forgotten in the neighbourhood.

At Cormayeur there is a family of guides, five brothers, named Provent,

all highly recommended; the traveller. however, must not expect to find on the south side of the Alps, such guides as those of Chamouny and the Oberland, either for general intelligence or extensive topographical knowledge of the Alpine districts.

Cormayeur is a place much resorted to in the summer by invalids, for the sake of its mineral waters.. There are different springs near it; that of La Victoire is half a league to the S. W.; its waters are impregnated with carbonic acid gas, sulphate of magnesia, and a little iron, and has a temperature of about 54. The spring of La Marguerite varies a little in the proportions of its components, but its temperature is 12 degrees higher. The Piedmontese have great reliance on the salutary effects of their mineral springs, and in their resort to them bring together many agrémens. To them the traveller to the head of the Val d'Aosta, and the tourist around Mont Blanc are indebted for an establishment which offers to them rest and refreshment, and, generally, agreeable society, after their journeys.

The establishment of chars at Cor

mayeur is excellent. A tariff fixes the price; for 2 persons, at 12 francs; for 3, at 15 francs; and for 4, at 20 francs, for their conveyance to Aosta.

ROUTE 108.

MARTIGNY TO AOSTA.-PASS OF THE GREAT ST. BERNARD.

At Martigny (Route 59.) chars are generally hired for this excursion, to take the traveller as far as Liddes, whence the ascent to the hospice is made on mules, the road beyond being impracticable, at present, for any sort of carriage; but the spirit of the Vallaisans will, if possible, overcome this difficulty. The same energy which has so much improved the roads in their canton, has already