Bard ( Valdôtain: ;

Issime Issime ( Issime wae, Éischeme; german: Einsimmen; Valdôtain: (locally )Obsolete. Recent works in German indicate the official French name only - cfLiederbuch von Gressoney und Issime and Peter Zürrer, ''Sprachkontakt in Walser Dialekten: Gre ...

wae, Board) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...

region of northwestern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is part of the ''Unité des communes valdôtaines du Mont-Rose'' and has a population of 134.Dato Istat all'1/1/2007
/ref>

Fort Bard Fort Bard, also known as Bard Fort ( it, Forte di Bard; french: Fort de Bard), is a fortified complex built in the 19th century by the House of Savoy on a rocky prominence above Bard, a town and ''comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of northwest ...

( it, Forte di Bard; french: Fort de Bard) is a fortified complex built in the 19th century by the House of Savoy on a rocky prominence above the town. After many years of neglect, it has been completely restored. In 2006 It reopened to tourists as the home for the Museum of the Alps. The fort also has art exhibitions. In the summer, the main courtyard is used to host musical and theatrical performances.

History

Bard lies at the centre of a deep, narrow gorge at the head of the Aosta valley. This strategic point has been inhabited since the

Neolithic period The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

as archaeologists have found several large engraved stones around the area. It later became a major route between Celtic

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

and the

Roman world The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day Lo ...

of the Italian peninsula. Today the town has many buildings dating back to the 16th century. These include the ''Bishop's House'' and the ''House of the Sun Dial''. The

Dora Baltea Dora Baltea () or Doire Baltée () is a river in northwestern Italy. It is a left-hand tributary of the Po and is about long. Name The river's Latin name was ''Duria maior'', ''Duria Baltica'' or ''Duria Bautica''. Strabo called it Δουρ� ...

is also crossed by a

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

stone bridge Fort Bard, which protects the pass, is built on the site of many earlier fortifications. In May 1800, it halted an entire French army launching a surprise attack on Northern Italy. It eventually fell to the division of French general Joseph Chabran on June 1, 1800.

Geography and climate

Bard is located at the narrowest point of the Aosta Valley. At this point, the

makes a sharp turn around the large rock promontory on which Fort Bard is located. The steep valley sides means the village is full of small streets that are bordered with historic stone buildings. The climate is mild for most of the year. The winter is cold but generally dry.

Economy

Economy is typical of the area, where

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

take the major role.

Culture

Cinema

Bard has been a setting for numerous works of fiction and movies, including films, such as '' Avengers: Age of Ultron''.

Gallery

References

External links

* *
Bard official website

Bard page
on " The most beautiful villages in Italy" website {{authority control