What is Fontainemore known for?

Five-yearly procession to the Sanctuary of Oropa over the Colle della Balma, documented since 1557, among the oldest Marian walks in the western Alps. Single-arch stone bridge from around 1200, spanning 22 metres across the Lys next to the parish church, intact and still walkable. Walser-influenced architecture in the historic centre: stone and wood houses with flower-decked balconies, haylofts and stalls grouped in tight rows.

Where is Fontainemore?

Fontainemore is a comune in the province of Aosta Valley, Aosta Valley region of Italy, about 84 kilometers from Torino.

Aosta Valley · Aosta Valley

Fontainemore

A 418-person Walser-influenced village at 760 metres in the Lys Valley, with a single-arch medieval bridge and a five-yearly pilgrimage to Oropa.

760m

Elevation

84 km / 52 mi

Nearest hub (Torino)

418

Population

May–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi più belli d'Italia

Why come

Fontainemore sits at 760 metres in the middle of the Lys Valley, the easternmost commune of the Aosta Valley, against the Mont Mars Nature Reserve. The Lys was settled in the Middle Ages by Walser communities from the upper valley, who left their mark in the stone-and-wood architecture and the surviving fragments of patois further upstream. The historic centre groups stone houses with wooden balconies around a parish church and a single-arch medieval bridge spanning 22 metres across the Lys, built around 1200. The toponym comes from either Fontaine de Saint-Maur or Fontaine de la mort, the second tied to local legend. Every five years since 1557, residents walk the old mule track over the Colle della Balma to the Sanctuary of Oropa in Piedmont, one of the oldest documented Marian processions in the region. Fontainemore was admitted to Borghi più Belli d'Italia in September 2023.

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Gallery

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Known for

Ponte medievale sul Lys
Single-arch stone bridge from around 1200, spanning 22 metres across the Lys next to the parish church, still in service as a footbridge.
Chiesa parrocchiale di San Giovanni Battista
Parish church next to the medieval bridge, dedicated to John the Baptist and the religious centre of the village from the late Middle Ages.
Centro storico
Cluster of stone and wood houses with flower-decked balconies, stalls, haylofts and other rural buildings preserved in Walser-influenced layout.
Riserva Naturale Mont Mars
Regional nature reserve above the village, crossed by the Colle della Balma mule track used for the pilgrimage to Oropa.
Mulattiera per il Santuario di Oropa
Historic mule track over the Colle della Balma, walked every five years by villagers since 1557 in pilgrimage to the Black Madonna of Oropa.

When to visit

Best months · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through October is the open window. May greens the lower slopes and reopens the Mont Mars reserve trails, June and July bring high-summer hiking and the longest days, and September and October give the autumn colour and chestnut harvest along the lower Lys. August is warm by Valdostan standards and the village fills with returning families. November through April is quiet. Snow holds at 760 metres through much of winter, several guesthouses close, and the road up the Lys Valley turns into a low-traffic corridor between Pont-Saint-Martin and Gressoney. The five-yearly Oropa pilgrimage runs in July when scheduled.