Visit of Arnad
The village of Arnad is located just a few kilometres from the Fort of Bard and the Castle of Issogne.
A simple step-by-step itinerary allows visitors to discover the main points of interest in Arnad, such as the parish church of Saint Martin, a small architectural gem from the Romanesque period. Its façade features a central tuff portal from the 15th century, decorated with a keel-shaped arch depicting two intertwined tree trunks and surmounted by a rose window. The church preserves interesting late-Gothic frescoes.
Upstream from the church stands the oldest settlement, dominated by the “Tor dé l’Ohtà”, which bears witness to the presence of the Valleise family in the Arnad area from the late 13th century onward. It is a three-storey quadrangular tower which, together with the adjoining buildings constructed over the centuries, forms a typical fortified house.
The village also features the chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony and numerous rural houses, some dating back to the 17th century.
The entire settlement is dominated by three castles, including the elegant Château Valleise. An ancient residence remodelled in a noble style in the 17th century at the behest of Baron Félix-Charles-François, the castle’s sober white façade encloses a series of rooms decorated with a sumptuous cycle of frescoes. Of particular note is the “Gallery of Strong Women”, where important female figures from the Old Testament and history are depicted alongside heroines embodying profound moral virtues.
Also not to be missed are a visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Snows, a building of 14th-century origin completely rebuilt in 1687 and today a place of devotion and pilgrimage, and the Echallod Bridge, a stone pedestrian bridge among the most picturesque in the Aosta Valley, built between 1770 and 1776.
The village is extremely famous for the artisanal production of Lard d’Arnad PDO, cured with salt, spices and mountain herbs. Every year, at the end of August, the Lard Festival takes place, during which it is possible to taste the lard produced by local families, perhaps accompanied by warm buttered chestnuts.
The guided tour of Arnad also includes a visit to and tasting at a local cured meat producer.
Discover here all the guided tours in the mountain resorts of the Aosta Valley
