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Vineyard “Provannes”
(domaine of “Vallée d’Aoste D.O.C.”)
Highness 880m
Stock: Petit rouge ; Pinot noir ; Müller-Thurgau
The grape harvests of the red wines, given from the Cave coopérative des Onze Communes of Aymavilles, contribute to the production of Torrette, Torrette supérieur and Pinot noir. Limited, but of the best quality, the production of Pinot gris (vineyard Plantey), made and bottled by a vine grower from Introd.
The Provannes vineyard with all the other vineyards of Introd, are part of the Vines’ Street of Aosta Valley.
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The castle
XIII century
The castle of Introd was built by the noble Pierre Sarriod, Marc’s son, around 1260. His descendants lived there until 1910. The main 
tour seems older. A document of 1244, about the authorisation a “sublimandi atque merlificandi turrim” (to raise up and to provide the tower with merlons ) is probably related to this tour. Originally the castle showed a eight-sided shape, as proved by the many pictures from the beginning of the century. In 1910, its structure had deep restorations that changed his appearance.
The castle, that is actually a property of the Caracciolo family from Napoli, will soon be opened to the public
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The Ôla
A very old building (this construction was already named in a document testamentary document of sarriods, in 1582 ), the Ôla has been used in the centuries as a cowshed, stable and barn by the Sirs of
Introd. It is made of two bodies. The first one, older, is composed by arch doors in stone and by a stone roof. The second one, more recently made, was added in an unknown date but for sure before 1613. This one shows a very particular structure: five big columns in 1.80 meters diameter hold up two wood notched shelves that in their turn hold up beautiful moulded beams and joists.The walls of the upper floor, moulded too, are rounded around the windows. Everything is covered by a roof with only one slope, a wing, that gave the name to the building (Ôla in patois means :wing). Because of its originality this building has influenced the architecture of the houses of Rhemes Valley and of Tarentaise and also the noblemen’s houses in all Aosta Valley
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The Barn
XV century
Nearby the castle there is a gorgeous construction in stone and wood, once used by Sarriods as a barn. By a small door one can gain access to the two halls that are in the basement. These halls
have slits, today completely buried. For sure made before 1582, this building was realized on an older structure. A document in parchment, dated 1387, shows the sentence of a process between the nobleman Eustache Sarriod and Vuillermet Gontar for a stealing of wheat and wool that was perpetrated in a barn owned by the first one: that could easily be related to this construction. Restored at the beginning of the last century, The Introd’s barn represents nowadays the best example of a Middle Age wood architecture in the region.
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The church
From M. Duc to the abbot Hanry, the community started to organise itself in a parish church around VII-VIII century. We do not know exactly the foundation’s date of this church, dedicated to Saint Paul’s conversion. In the course of time this monument raised for the Lord
has been subject to many widenings and remakes. On 1686, during the widening’ s works in the church, the wood ceiling was changed into the actual stone vault. In the same year (1686) also the main baroque altar- that replaced the old gothic altar consecrated in 1441- that embodies a painting showing Saint Paul’s conversion on the way to Damasco and the two altars dedicated to the Virgin of Rosary and to Saint Joseph. On 1906, the works made for free by the Introd’s inhabitants, the church was made longer and attached to the diocesan administration building.
Historical curiosity: the custom of burying the dead bodies inside the church must have been in use for all the XVIII century, as it is testified by a document of May 22nd 1794
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The bell tower
Higness: 26m
Historical classified monument
As the church, also the bell tower has endured many remakes during the centuries. The architecture of the bottom part, the oldest one, is in romanic style and was made, as the historians say, in the XI century. More recently, probably before XVII century- the period when the old clock (end XVI-beginning XVII century) was installed- the bell tower was restored and the roof, very slender, remade. Once a cock was on the iron cross of the roof, symbol of belonging of Aosta Valley clergy to the gallic church. We know, thanks to Robert Berton, that this cock “attached to an iron pole, hit and taken off its hinges by a lightning was destroyed by the wind that blew in a storm.” In 2006, a copy of the cock has been repositionned on the cross during the restoration works that have regarded the entire religious complex.
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The Mont Blanc (4810 m.)
The massif of Mont Blanc, with its gorgeous chain of 4000 m. (twelve of them are visible from Aosta side) is the alpine spur most impressive and highest of Europe. Its name is connected to the brave adventures of modern climbing.
The peak was gained for the first time in 1786 by two Chamonix inhabitants: Gabriel Paccard, a doctor, and Jacques Balmat, researcher of crystals and hunter.
After them, a very impressive series of ascensions made the story of this mountain, giving to 
this Europe’s small corner an international fame. Nowadays the superb landscapes that get open to the hikers’ eyes are visible to everybody, because of the cableway that connects La Palud (Courmayeur) to Chamonix by Punta Helbronner-aiguille du Midi way. This work of art defined by the International Press “the eighth Wonder” (1989) was ended in 1958. Because of the technical solutions used and the actual extreme conditions it is considered so far a masterpiece of modern engineering. From 1965, a tunnel has been opened under Mont Blanc. It connects Aosta Valley to Savoy allowing cultural, economical and tourist exchanges between the two countries: the tunnel is for Aosta Valley the only door open all year long to France. Mountain to hike, tourist decoy, a communication route; Mont Blanc is all this but, for the inhabitants of the three regions at its feet (Aosta Valley, Savoy and Vallese), this granite’s mountain is something more: it is the witness of a common civilisation, physical symbol of the old historical, linguistic and cultural unity that all the world, in spite of the three frontiers that go through, knows with the name of “Pays du Mont Blanc” (Mont Blanc countries).
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Town Hall - Post Office - Outpatients’department
This building restored in 1985 holds the municipal offices, the post office and the outpatients’ department.
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School - Library - Gymnasium - Playground
The top part of the structure, built in 1957 and remade in different times, holds the nursery school and the elementary school of Introd. The basement is more recent (1986) that includes the gymnasium and the rooms of the library. The playground for kids and a field for “bocce” occupies a part outside the structure.
The bridges
The county town is connected to the other villages in the bottom of the valley by two bridges built on the river of Rhêmes.
The Pon Noù (the new bridge)
« Effort uni d’habitants, valeur des représentents M. Chev.J, Briul syndic- G. Rattone député, douèrent la commune d’Introd de cette remarquable constrution… »
Realised during the First World War, on an abyss of more than 80 m., where a century before George Brunet thought it, an inhabitant very original of Introd, this bridge is a real masterwork of architecture. The building works started July 5th 1915 and ended a year later. For the huge scaffolding in wood, 8m of width and 34m. of length, they used entire logs. The stones used for this work have been taken from the near village Norat.
The Pon Vioù (the old bridge)
This bridge in stone was realised during 1827-28 years. Until 1916 represented for the people who came from the villages to the bottom of the valley the only entry-way to the county town. On the parapet, in the bridge’s centre, a beautiful cross in stone raises up; as the popular believing it was built in memory of the death of a man who fell down in the abyss: a worker who was dismantling the scaffolding of the bridge or a shepherd who fell down with a young bullock that he was trying to save.
Historical curiosity: the old bridge replaced an older wood bridge (of XVI century), you can still see the shoulders of it, nearby the actual one. From very old documents this wood bridge was known as the “Big Introd’s bridge”.
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The chapel of the “Saint-Suaire” (Saint Shroud)
South of the circular surrounding wall of the castle’s parch, at about few tenths of metres from the Ôla, there is the chapel os the Saint Shroud ( lo Sèn-Chouéo). This building between the many chapels of the village deserves to be mentioned because it is one of the oldest chapels in Aosta Valley. Wanted by the Sarriods of Introd, its building was made in the second half of the XV century. It was consecrated to the Saint Shroud, in honour of the owners of the relic the dukes of Savoy, who the Sirs of Introd were very in touch with. Many times restored -the first operation is dated 1508-1510- the chapel of the Saint Shroud, recently restored by the municipal administration, holds since many years many exhibitions in the summer.
Historical curiosity: sin the outside a wood cross is raised up on a rectangular stone which, during the funerals, the coffin was put on for the last pause, waiting the parish priest who was coming down from the church to accompany the dead on his last trip. This custom went on until nowadays (the last burial that maintained this ritual was celebrated on March 31st 2000), after then it was abolished because of the troubles it caused…to the circulation in the street!
