Ennios

This week: Valle D'Aosta

Valle D Aosta is Italy s smallest region and the population of 116,000 is the smallest regionally in Italy. Before becoming part of Italy Valle D Aosta was held by the French region of Savoy until the 12th century, due to this the schools teach French and Italian and many of the family names have French roots.

This part of the Alps has been extremely important as a crossroads and passing place for centuries, Hannibal passed through the alps in the 3rd century with his elephants and the Roman legions used it as a main route into France and the rest of Europe for many years.

The economy relies heavily on tourism in modern times and boasts some of the best skiing in the world. The region has an excellent history of shepherding which is still carried out today as it was in years gone by. The sheep produce an excellent cheese called Fontina which has a D.O.P. designation and is used extensively in the cuisine of the area along with Polenta, Potatoes, lamb, Mutton, Beef and Sausages. The regional food is hearty and peasant based, this is due to the climate and availability of produce in the mountains. Bread was baked once a week and often went hard a couple of days after baking so was replaced in meals by potatoes or Polenta.