Antagnod

The Aosta Valley has a capital city, called Aosta. The Ayas Valley also has a capital, called Antagnod. Ayas is not the name of a particular town. It refers to the whole valley, which is scattered with hamlets and houses on the ascent towards Mount Rosa. Antagnod is itself little more than a mountain hamlet – more than 1700 m above sea level – but it is here that you will find the municipal buildings, the beautiful parish church of St Martin, and the perfectly-preserved Maison Fournier, a small fortress-house that was once the seat of the castellan, or governors from the Challant family. For this reason, the Fournier house is also known as Maison Challant.

Whatever you choose to call it, the fortified house is sure to attract your attention with its wooden balcony and cylindrical tower, which has three overlapping windows decorated with an upturned keel motif. Today, the fortress-house is home to the Institut Valdôtain de l 'Artisanat de Tradition (Valdostan Institute of Traditional Crafts), which runs the l’Artisanà boutique in rue de l'Eglise, where you can find handmade items crafted from wood, soapstone, wrought iron, textiles and ceramics. Who could blame you for wanting to take home a little souvenir? Maybe a pair of decorative sabots, the typical wooden clogs worn in the valley. This is the place to come.

On the other hand, next to Antagnod there are also ski lifts for the winter season, as this location is part of the Monterosa Ski area.