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.

When is the best time to visit Fontainemore?

May–Oct. 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.

Where is Fontainemore?

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

How do I get to Fontainemore?

From Torino, Fontainemore is roughly 84 km by road.

Aosta Valley · Aosta Valley

Fontainemore

A 418-person Walser-influenced village at 760 metres in the Lys Valley, marked by its stone bridge and a five-yearly pilgrimage to Oropa.

Known for

OROPA PILGRIMAGE
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.
MEDIEVAL BRIDGE
Single-arch stone bridge from around 1200, spanning 22 metres across the Lys next to the parish church, intact and still walkable.
WALSER STONE
Walser-influenced architecture in the historic centre: stone and wood houses with flower-decked balconies, haylofts and stalls grouped in tight rows.

When to visit

Best · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

The festa: Antonio abate, 17 January

Why come

Fontainemore is the easternmost commune of the Aosta Valley, set against the Mont Mars Nature Reserve in the middle of the Lys Valley. The Lys was settled in the Middle Ages by Walser communities from the upper valley, who left fragments of patois further upstream along with their building style. The toponym comes from either Fontaine de Saint-Maur or Fontaine de la mort, the second tied to local legend rather than record.

The historic centre and the parish church sit close together at the valley floor, the working part of the village grouped around its bridge, while the reserve and the pilgrimage track rise above toward the pass. Fontainemore was admitted to Borghi più Belli d'Italia in September 2023. The village reads as a settlement shaped as much by the route passing over it as by the valley it sits in: a crossing point first, a destination after.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Fontainemore’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

What to see

Ponte medievale sul Lys
The arch clears the river next to the parish church and carries a footpath rather than road traffic, having outlasted its original use.
Chiesa parrocchiale di San Giovanni Battista
Dedicated to John the Baptist, the church has stood as the religious centre of the village since the late Middle Ages, set right beside the bridge.
Centro storico
The rows sit tight together: haylofts, stalls and houses under one layout, balconies still carrying flowers against the stone and wood.
Riserva Naturale Mont Mars
A regional reserve rising above the village, crossed by the mule track that carries the Colle della Balma pilgrimage route toward Oropa.
Mulattiera per il Santuario di Oropa
The track climbs over the Colle della Balma, worn by generations of walkers making the same crossing toward the Black Madonna every five years.

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Living here

Population 418
In-betweeni
Pharmacy: none mapped
High school within a 30-minute drive
Nearest airport Turin, 1 h 19 min drive
Regional capital Aosta, 1 h 1 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 760 m
Population: 418
Surface area: 31.71 km²

On the map

Google Maps Apple Maps Directions from Torino

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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