At about 8 Km from Aosta on the
main Great Saint Bernard road n. 27 you meet the first district
of Grand Combin Mountain Community: Gignod, which is situated in
a beautiful sunny position on the right orographical side of the
Buthier river. The district of Gignod has 55 hamlets which lie
at an altitude varying from 785 meters of Variney, to 950 meters
of Le Chateau, to the 1424 meters of Clemensey, north of Buthier.
In the village of Gignod there is the parish
church of Saint Hilaire, perfectly preserved in its 15th
-century structures. Inside there are interesting late 15th -
century frescoes which are considered one of the best
expressions of the painting of that period in the Valle d'Aosta.
In the sacristy there is also a small museum of Sacred Art.
Outside there is the beautiful stone bell-tower, built between
1436 and 1481 by the architect Yolli de Wuetto from Gressoney.
The library of Gignod includes about 10.000 volumes.
The traditional festival "Feta di Teteun"
takes place every year in Gignod in the second half of August. It is a
food festival dedicated to the "Teteun", a delicious typical
salami obtained from cows udder.
From April to November Gignod offers golf
players a nice 9 hole golf-course in the locality of
Arsanieres. In winter those who play "patanque" (a local
variety of bowls) can count on a covered playground in the
Plan Chateau locality.
Fans of ski touring have the
possibility in winter and spring to make the excursion from Buthier to Punta Chaligne which is considered one of the
classical itineraries of this sport. For mountain-bike fans,
besides the various routes, a very pleasant one starts from
the woods north of the hamlets. The itinerary reaches the
following localities: La Cheriety - Mayen Francey - Ru
Nicollet - Roula - the military road - and the village of
Etroubles.
The excursions from Gignod to Punta Chaligne, Cresta
Tardiva (2380 mt) and the climb to Mont Saron are very
pleasant. One can also do some hiking along the various
marked paths of the district.
Courtesy of the AIAT Gran San Bernardo
