Tour of the vineyards of Donnas

Access

Take the Pont-Saint-Martin exit from the motorway, turn left, enter Donnas along the main road from Pont-Saint-Martin, pass the Carabinieri barracks on the right, and shortly afterwards take Via Rondavacca, until you reach a small car park, opposite a restaurant. Alternatively, look for a car park along the state road, immediately after the entrance to the street.

Introduction

Many times travelling along the motorway, or simply along the state road between Pont-Saint-Martin and Donnas, we have happened to raise our eyes to the vine-growing terraces clinging to the hillsides between Donnas and Albard. This path took us amidst the works built with skill and patience by our ancestors, works that radically altered the appearance of this area, and that after at least a few hundred years, are still there, silent witnesses of enormous labours and sacrifices, of a time when every grain of rye, every drop of wine was the fruit of much, much sweat. Even now, despite the help of technology, just reaching the terraces for pruning is almost a journey.

Description

 Leaving the car, continue along the road, enter between the houses of the hamlet, cross it to the left, and look for a nice channel between the low walls, cleared, with white markings, which is the shortcut to reach the asphalt road above, forbidden to traffic. When you reach it, take the steep but white-marked path to the right for a few hundred metres, until you find a cross on a large stone, on the right; after the cross, the road has collapsed and is being repaired. Climb to the left, up a ramp that leads to the houses, and after a few metres, take a stone staircase again to the left, between the terraces, following the yellow arrows numbered with signpost No. 9, next to one of the monorails serving the vineyards. The path climbs between the dry stone walls, very steep in places, going from one terrace to another, sometimes on steps, sometimes across very thin ledges. We often use our hands in the progression: be careful where you put them, because in addition to the brambles, on particularly hot days, given the isolation and exposure, we had the impression that the area could also be home to a few hundred lizards, and maybe not only those... After an almost vertical ascent, among hawthorns and mimosas in bloom and traces of terracing, the path makes a diversion to the right and passes over an enormous boulder, overlooking the lower Gressoney valley, and continues in front of an isolated house, from which we soon reach the tarmac road, at the hamlet of Bois Dessus; faithfully following the signs, we walk along the tarmac road for a while, abandoning it to cut a few bends. Before the next group of houses, we take the path to the left again, reach more houses, and instead of climbing further to the left, we abandon the signs and follow a path to the right, which is flat, passes a spring and takes us to the numerous houses of Places (817 m), with a splendid spring carved out of a single stone, a narrow passageway near a centuries-old chestnut tree, details of rural architecture, and many vineyards. We descend between the houses and continue slightly downhill, passing under a renovated house and soon reaching the asphalt road, to be followed to the left; a few metres away is the road sign Notre Dame de la Guarde, and opposite, high up on the left, the bell tower peeps out among the trees. The sanctuary is reached by climbing a recently paved ramp. It has a beautiful church, with many votive offerings, a bell tower, in front of the church the stations of the rosary, behind and in front, buildings with porticoes to accommodate pilgrims. The first chapel dates back to 1200, built following the discovery of a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary. The present sanctuary dates back to the early 1600s, and the church was rebuilt in 1714 because it faced north instead of west. The sanctuary's feast day is 8 September, the Name of Mary. There is another beautiful spring in the square in front of the church. Returning: go down to the tarmac road below and follow it to the left for a few hundred metres, until you find the mule track on the right that descends to Plan de Brun, take it, it is very wide but has been interrupted by the tarmac road. Follow the road to the right, and immediately after the hairpin bend, take the mule track again to the right, which passes next to a little chapel depicting a Madonna, and descend to the hamlet; pass between the houses and arrive next to the Holy Trinity chapel, taking the mule track again in front of the chapel (signposts). At this point we are once again among vineyards and terraces, which must be followed as far as the tarmac road to the right. In March 2008, transit was officially interrupted here due to construction work: as it was Sunday, the building site was deserted and we passed through anyway; if this is not possible, you can get around the obstacle by climbing up the terracing on the right for about 20 metres and continuing parallel to the road below for about a hundred metres: once back on the tarmac road, continue as far as the cross you came to on the way up; immediately afterwards, on the left, there is a sign indicating the path between vines and chestnuts: open the small gate and start descending the dozens of steps between the vineyards. You will immediately come across a beautiful balmet (wine shelter carved out under huge stones). The path has to be found a bit, it is not marked, but as you go from one terrace to the next, you can easily spot the stairs, ramps, and steps that allow you to descend. The work done up here by our ancestors is impressive, and considering the hundreds of thousands of stones moved to make dry stone walls and terraces, I compare it to the cyclopean work of building the pyramids: here the human work is more humble, but in terms of physical effort and engineering, I see no difference... The cultivation of wine probably dates back to pre-Roman times, a mule track passes above that is still called Via dei Salassi, in the Middle Ages there was a wine route that ran through the Val d'Ayas, the wines were consumed by the producer and exported; the exposure, the stones that absorb heat and release it a little at a time, the dry climate, have certainly determined the destination of this area for viticulture. In spring, the terraces are blooming with mimosas, peach trees, almond trees, forsythias. And in autumn, it must be a palette. Our route continues to the green meadow of Donnas; cross it, exit onto the state road to follow to the right, and reach the car about 400 m further on. If you do not wish to take this staircase, you can continue on the tarmac road to your car. 

Photo gallery The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli Mimosa in bloom The climb begins... Vineyards Beginning of the path 9 The stairs between the terraces The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli Cengetta Aerial passage Places Source at Places Vineyards at Places The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli The vineyards of Donnas - © 2008 Maria%20Grazia%20Schiapparelli Here we turn right Notre Dame de la Garde Notre Dame de la Garde Notre Dame de la Garde Notre Dame de la Garde Bibliography: * L. Zavatta, Le Valli del Monte Rosa, Rimini, 2002 Cartography: * Istituto Geografico Centrale (IGC) 1:50000 - number 9 Ivrea Biella Bassa Valle d'Aosta