Heritage: Pont-Saint-Martin

An impressive testimony of the Romanization of Valle d’Aosta. Its date is uncertain: according to some it is said to have been built around 120 B.C. while others attribute it to 25 B.C.

The bridge
It is anchored to the live rock on both sides, 25 metres high and its single arch is 35 metres wide. At its base, dug into the live rock, you can see the bearings for the wooden beams which provided the necessary framework for the construction of the stone arch. At the end of the nineteenth century some iron crowns were added to strengthen the structure. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, further down in the valley, another wooden bridge was built, it was later replaced in 1876 by the current brick structure.

The legend
Popular imagination has attributed the construction of the bridge to the devil. According to legend, Saint Martin, the Bishop of Tours, found himself obstructed by the Lys river on his way back from Italy to his dioceses, the river had swept way the only walkway during a flood. The devil proposed that the problem be solved by building a solid bridge in just one night, but in exchange he requested the soul of the first person to cross that bridge. The saint accepted, but the next morning, throwing a piece of bread over to the other side of the bridge, he made sure that the first creature to cross the bridge was a hungry dog. The devil was furious and disappeared into the Lys amidst bolts of lightening and blasts of sulphur and the local population was left with the bridge. This legend still constitutes one of the main themes of the Pont-Saint-Martin carnival, which concludes with the burning of a devil in effigy under the Roman bridge.

Its construction began in 1883 on a rock overlooking the ancient burg, as wished by Pietro Annibale Baraing, one of the most important figures in Pont-Saint-Martin.
Built in neo-gothic style, according to the style of the era, it was surrounded by a large garden with greenhouses and fountains, and its construction was completed in 1893.
In 1931 it was donated to the municipality of Pont-Saint-Martin, which turned it into the town hall. In the post-war period up to the 1960s, it housed the Regional Employment Offices.
After being left in abandonment for several years, it was refurbished and is now the headquarters of the Mont Rose Mountain Municipal District.

Formerly known as della Rivoire, the castle was built in different phases and used as a residence by the lords of Pont-Saint-Martin starting from the end of the 15th century. Remodeled several times, while still maintaining various significant aspects, in its primitive forms the structure could be identified as a rural fortification (hence the name of a stronghold), but its function, as well as defensive, was also ostentatious, meeting the need to underline the prestige enjoyed by the owners.
The building is spread over four floors: a basement room, with the function of a warehouse or room for the processing of agricultural products, two floors representing the main floors and a third, with seat windows, with more modest living characteristics.
On the south-west side there is a projecting body that rests on superimposed shelves of squared stone. To the north-west, towards via Castello, the original wall structure is clearly visible, made of stones and lime mortar; at the top a characteristic fireplace stands out. On the north-east side are the entrance and the stairwell which leads to the mezzanine and the two raised floors. Various interesting elements also present the south-east side, which overlooks the internal courtyard: three windows with grating, a wooden balcony resting on a system of shelves, beams and lightning bolts and finally the dovecote.
The restoration carried out in 2012 made it possible to recover the building by removing it from neglect and the signs of aging and allowing it to be returned to the population and to all those interested in the history of the country.

Visit
After the renovation, the stronghold of the lords of Pont-Saint-Martin has become the home no longer of noble families, but of talents and culture, a museum and cultural center that worthily return this historic building to the community in all its splendor.

In addition to some drawings by the master Francesco Corni, the structure houses various period furnishings belonging to the collections of the regional administration, set up on the main floor together with the exhibition “Presenze”, antique clothes and linen interpreted by Daniela Evangelisti .
The third floor is dedicated to the works of the sculptor Cristiano Nicoletta, made available by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage and Activities of the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta, as well as to the exhibition “The bombing of Pont Saint Martin - 1944” . Finally, going up to the last level is the photographic exhibition “Vignobles” curated by Enrico Peyrot.

The Fontaney Church stands along the regional road of Perloz, just above the centre of Pont-Saint-Martin, hidden among cypresses and boxtrees, in a place rich in sources whose moisture unfortunately caused the decline of this beautiful model reproducing in miniature the plant of the Aosta Cathedral, and from which derives the toponym that means “place of the fountains”.

History
Built between 1590 and 1595 by Baron Pierre of Vallaise on a land owned by his family, next to the fortified house, it was dedicated to the Precious Blood and the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
At the time when the church was built, Pont-Saint-Martin’s territory still belonged to the parishes of Perloz and Donnas. After several instances from the inhabitants and the Baron who let the church build, on 5 June 1614 the church was appointed as parish by Bishop Martini, and so remained until 1899.

Description
The church has a rectangular plan, with three naves, divided by pillars painted with frescoes of scenes from the life of Saints. The interior paintings, in fairly good conditions, bear the date of 1726. The polygonal apse has an ambulatory which prolongs the side aisles, while the rib vaults are divided by grey stone cordons. The façade was frescoed in 1600: the Renaissance paintings represent scenes from the Holy Scriptures.
On the right side is placed the chapel of the Holy Rosary, contemporary of the rest of the building.
The presbitery is placed over a step elevated above the floor of the nave: it was once bounded by two tuff columns, still visible on the side walls.
The aisles are lightened by fifteen large windows, once provided with lead glass with images of Saint Martin (who gave the name to the municipality), the Glory of Christ, the Virgin and the twelve Apostles.
The sacristy was in communication with the bell tower, now collapsed.

In 1839 the new parish church, built in the plain, was opened: since that time the old parish church was stripped of all ornaments and gradually abandoned.
In 1904 an ordinance of the city council of Pont-Saint-Martin would even have ordered its demolition, in order to allow the expansion of the nearby cemetery. The intervention of the parish priest don Fortunato Quendoz was decisive and saved from destruction this jewel of sacred architecture: in 1910 the Regional Direction for Ancient Monuments declared the church of Fontaney as a national monument.
In 1968 were made some operations on the plasters and in 1998 the roof was reconstructed, at the end of a complex series of restoration and renovation interventions that gave again the very identity to the monument.
Since 2009 the Fontaney Church has been finally returned to the population.

The museum is dedicated to the magnificent bridge built by the Romans in the 1st century BC, whose arch is the widest among those existing in Europe, dating back to the same era.

An interesting series of photographs, drawings and documents allows to acquire any kind of information about the ‘‘Devil’s Bridge’‘: the materials and techniques used for its construction, legends about the bridge, the 19th-century restoration, the narrow escape from allied bombing in August 1944.
The Roman bridge museum is also the departure point for an all-round visit to the village of Pont-Saint-Martin, presented in a video projected in the same room.

Il Carnevale di Pont-Saint-Martin è nato nel 1910 e trae origine da due distinte leggende popolari.
Una è imperniata sul personaggio del Diavolo che, come vuole la leggenda, fu interpellato da San Martino per la costruzione di un ponte solido sul torrente Lys. Il Maligno innalzò un bellissimo arco in una sola notte, ma in cambio chiese l’anima che per prima vi fosse transitata. Il Santo però ingannò il Diavolo facendo passare sul ponte un cane: il Maligno si infuriò e voleva distruggere la propria opera: aveva già aperto una breccia sul parapetto del ponte, ma San Martino piantò una croce nel suo punto più alto e fece scomparire il Diavolo. In seguito venne eretto un oratorio nel luogo dove era stata fatta la breccia, per annullare il maleficio che non permetteva di ripararla in nessun modo.
Il personaggio della Ninfa si rifà invece alla leggenda della Fata di Colombera: secondo la tradizione questa leggiadra creatura abitava in un antro scavato nella roccia nei pressi di Réchanter. Ma gli abitanti del borgo la accusarono di iniquità ed ella decise di lasciare quel luogo inospitale. Fece cadere una pioggia torrenziale che ingrossò le acque del rivo di Réchanter, poi fermò le acque del Lys formando un lago nel quale ella si adagiò, per poi ridare nuovamente sfogo ai flutti. La terribile ondata, arrivata nei pressi di Pont, rischiava di travolgere il Ponte Romano ed alcuni abitanti del paese invocarono la ninfa: “Baissez-vous, la belle, et laissez-nous le pont!” La giovane creatura, commossa, risparmiò il Ponte ed il paese, cosa che gli abitanti ricordano ancor oggi con riconoscenza.
Durante la festa si svolge anche la “corsa delle bighe”, in ricordo dell’occupazione Romana al tempo dei Salassi, ed i festeggiamenti si concludono con il rogo del Diavolo sotto il ponte.
La manifestazione inizia il sabato grasso per terminare il mercoledì delle Ceneri.