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A brief historical overview

The area covered in this guide, the Gran Paradiso National Park and its surroundings, straddles two administrative and political regions of Italy -the Valle d'Aosta in the north and Piemonte in the south (often referred to as Piedmont in English).

Historical highlights include the Roman era when the city of Augusta Praetoria, present-day Aosta, was founded in 25BC as an important alpine junction on the Via delle Gallie. The valley was controlled by the Savoys, almost without interruption, from the 11th century up until 1861, when Italy was unified.

Although French was the main language for most of this period and it is still taught and used, Italian is more widely spoken these days. Many local people, however, speak an unusual patois of French-Provençal origin. This includes a wealth of specialised vocabulary for aspects of the natural alpine surroundings connected with the pastoral activities, as persists in place names.

Demographically, the mid-1800s saw a significant growth in population which put a strain on natura resources. This led to seasonal emigration of itinerant tinkers, seed-sellers, chimney sweeps and glaziers from the southern valleys in particular. Later, however, large-scale emigration became permanent and ex-pat communities such as the one in Paris have actually helped preserve the Valle Soana dialect. Contact with home villages is kept up and French number-plates are commonplace in village car parks during the holiday period.