Oyace
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redazione
Access
Oyace can be reached via the[A5] Turin–Aosta motorway, taking the Aosta Est exit, from where you continue northwards to the Variney junction, where the Valpelline road begins, running up the valley to the main town; until June 2027, the link between the motorway and the main road is closed for tunnelling works, and the route runs through the city of Aosta. The nearest railway station is Aosta, on Trenitalia’s (TI) Chivasso–Aosta line; the section between Aosta and Ivrea is closed for electrification works and is served by replacement buses, with a phased reopening scheduled to begin in January 2027. Local public transport is operated by Arriva Italia, with suburban routes connecting Aosta to the municipalities of the Valpelline. The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Turin-Caselle’s “Sandro Pertini” Airport. During the winter months, winter tyres or snow chains must be carried in the vehicle.
Introduction
Oyace is a municipality in the Aosta Valley, situated in the middle Valpelline, on the orographic right-hand side of the valley, between Valpelline and Bionaz. The main town, La Crétaz, stands on a plateau at just under 1,400 metres, at the point where the valley narrows into a rocky step; the territory rises as far as Punta Fiorio, which exceeds 3,300 metres. The municipality borders Bionaz, Nus, Ollomont, Quart and Valpelline. Its strategic position, controlling the passage to the upper valley, is emphasised by the medieval tower which dominates the village from the top of a rocky outcrop.
Description
The area lies on the ridge separating two gently sloping sections of the Valpelline. Below the main village, the Buthier river flows through the Betenda gorge, a ravine also fed by waters from the Grandes Murailles glacier. To the north-west rise the rocky spires of the Morion range, whose ridges mark the watershed with the Ollomont valley; the opposite slope is covered in fir and larch forests that extend up towards the Vessona and Verdonaz valleys, on the border with the Saint-Barthélemy valley. The villages, including La Crétaz, Le Closé, Bérrioz, Condémine, Gallian, Sergnan, Voisinal and Pied-de-Ville, are scattered across the plateau and along the hillside.
In Roman times, the area was known as Agacium. In the Middle Ages, the lords of Oyace resided in the castle, of which the octagonal-plan tower known as Tornalla remains – a structure unique in the region: documented from 1197 and, according to recent studies, dating back to 1187, it has an external diameter of approximately 7.50 metres and walls nearly two metres thick. Local tradition attributes its construction to a group of Saracens who took refuge in the valley around the year 1000. Between 1253 and 1287, Oyace passed to the lords of Porta di Sant’Orso, formerly the lords of Quart, and became part of the barony of Quart, Valpelline and Oyace, one of the most important in the Duchy of Savoy; in the second half of the 14th century, the lords ceded direct control to the House of Savoy, and in 1612 the fiefdom passed to the Perrone family of San Martino. At the bottom of the valley, the Betenda Bridge, originally built of timber in 1352 and rebuilt in stone in 1688, spans the gorge. The parish church is dedicated to St Michael; in the valley of the same name, at an altitude of 2,317 metres, stands the sanctuary of Verdonaz, dedicated to Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, a pilgrimage destination on 5 August. In the village of Voisinal, a monumental beech tree is preserved.
The economy is predominantly agricultural, based on livestock farming and the production of Fontina PDO in the mountain pastures of the Vessona and Verdonaz valleys. With the rise of mountaineering between the 19th and 20th centuries, the Hotel Otemma was built in the hamlet of Le Closé, which was then the most important hotel in the valley. Oyace is part of the Unité des Communes valdôtaines Grand-Combin.
The wildlife is distributed according to the valley’s altitude zones: in the woods on the slopes, there are roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), red deer (Cervus elaphus), the fox (Vulpes vulpes), the pine marten and the stoat, along with the green, red and black woodpeckers. Above 2,000 metres, in the Vessona and Verdonaz valleys, live the marmot (Marmota marmota), the mountain hare, the rock ptarmigan and the black grouse, whilst the chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) is found in the larch zone and the higher pastures, where the ibex (Capra ibex). Among the diurnal birds of prey are the buzzard (Buteo buteo) and the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos).
From the main town, a circular route connects the church of San Michele, the Tornalla and the Betenda bridge. The hillside paths lead up to the sanctuary of Verdonaz and the Vessona and Verdonaz valleys; Tornalla lies along the route of the Alta Via No. 1.
Information
General information
Area: 30.56 km²
Altitude of the main town: 1,377 m
Highest point: 3,332 m – Punta Fiorio
Population: 207 (as at 1 January 2026)
Name in dialect: Oyace
Name of inhabitants: oyaçois
Patron saint: St Michael the Archangel, celebrated on 29 September
Neighbouring municipalities: Bionaz – Nus – Ollomont – Quart – Valpelline
Region: Aosta Valley
Country: Italy
Official website: Valpelline
Country: Italy
Official website: Valpelline
Country: Italy
Official website: Valpelline
Country: Italy
Official website: ValpellAosta
Country: Italy
Official website: comune.oyace.ao.it