The best road cycling routes around Pontey

The Forte di Bard seen from the bridge over the Dora Baltea river offers one of the most iconic and photographed views in the Aosta Valley. This spectacular perspective captures the imposing, craggy fortress that dominates the village below and the river waters.

Mandatory passage for the Valle de Clavaritè from Fenils...

Beautiful bridge connecting Hone to Bard. Magnificent view of the fort.

While traveling along the Via Francigena, on the stretch from Arnad to Bard, you cross this characteristic three-arched pedestrian bridge. On the left orogr. area with a bench for rest.

The Castello di Ivrea, also known as the “Castello dalle rosse torri” (Castle of the Red Towers), is an impressive medieval castle that towers over the town of Ivrea in the Piedmont region. The castle was built in 1358 by order of Amedeo VI of Savoy, also known as the Conte Verde. It served as a symbol of Savoyard rule over Ivrea and Canavese, mainly for defensive purposes. It stands on a hill overlooking the town and the road to the Valle d’Aosta. The castle has four imposing round towers that characterize its structure. These towers, each 34 meters high, are located next to the cathedral and the bishop’s palace. The castle walls were once surrounded by a wide moat, and the only access was via a drawbridge. From the battlements, defenders could throw stones and boiling water at attackers. Unfortunately, the interior of the castle was completely dismantled and altered when it served as a political and criminal prison from 1700 to 1970. Once a stronghold of power and defense, the castle was transformed by time and the changing needs of society.

The Roman road of the Gauls, built to connect Rome with the Rhone Valley, has in the Donnas section one of its most characteristic and spectacular points, carved into the living rock for a length of 221 meters. At a place where in antiquity the rocky promontory plunged into the waters of the Dora, the Romans launched a real challenge to nature by carving a living rock on which they could draw perfectly vertical walls and in whose womb they carved the roadbed. Exciting and unusual, here the Via delle Gallie gives its best by offering the spectacle of a vaulted passage 4 meters thick, 4 meters high and almost 3 meters wide which eloquently illustrates the amount of rock removed and shows all the refinement of a road engineering that has never been reached again until viaducts and modern tunnels. In the Middle Ages it served as the gate of the village, which was closed at night; the other defenses were natural: on one side the mountain and on the other the river. A fundamental road, which has been used a lot over the centuries, as evidenced by the deep ruts left by the passage of carts and the wear of the walking surface which has been patched and repaired at various points over time. A little further on, on the right, we recognize the excellent profile of a milestone, also spared in the rocky bank, which informs us of the distance to Augusta Praetoria (the current city of Aosta): XXXVI miles (about 54 km).

This stretch of cycle path that runs along a stretch of river (Dora Baltea) is very special.

The origin of this bridge is uncertain, but it was most likely built as early as Roman times. The first documents in which this bridge is mentioned, however, date from the second half of the 13th century. From 1272, the bridge is called the Hôhne Bridge or Bard Bridge in Latin and then in Old French. Apart from its history, the bridge is a beautiful photo point of Fort Bard.