Bard (; Valdôtain: ;

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

) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

Aosta Valley The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

region of northwestern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is part of the ''Unité des communes valdôtaines du Mont-Rose'' and has a population of 134. It is one of ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

Fort Bard Fort Bard, also known as Bard Fort (; ), 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 northwestern Italy. Fort Bard has been complete ...

(; ) is a fortified complex built in the 19th century by the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

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 or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wid ...

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

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

and the

Roman world The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1,200-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 L ...

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 The Dora Baltea () or Doire Baltée () is a river in the Aosta Valley and in Piedmont, 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 ''Duri ...

is also crossed by a

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

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 1 June 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 mean the village is full of small streets that are bordered by historic stone buildings. The climate is mild for most of the year. The winter is cold but generally dry.

Economy

The economy is typical of the area, where

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

handicraft A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

take the major roles.

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 Borghi più belli d'Italia