Fénis is a scattered Italian municipality of 1 769 inhabitants in the central-southern Valle d'Aosta.
The main tourist attraction is its
castle, an Italian
national monument. Critics believe that the castle is one of the most
representative symbols of the Aosta Valley Middle Ages.
Some
strongholds and ancient houses are also preserved:
about 100 m
upstream from the castle, in a flat and sunny area, are the ruins of the
Challant stronghold or de Putat stronghold, probably from the 14th-15th
century. The stronghold is uncovered and awaiting restoration: in the
meantime it has been fenced in, shored up and covered with a canopy.
the Chénoz stronghold, in Chénoz, between the Ravarey houses, from the
14th-15th century and once owned by the noble de Tillier family.
the
18th century noble de Tillier house in the locality of the same name.
the Tornalla or Casa dei Ramein, a sixteenth-century house in the Cors
locality (a locality once known as Chez-Ramein).
In addition to
these, André Zanotto mentions two others: a medieval house in the
locality of Bavavey and Casa Challant, near the parish church, in which,
before the vandal removal of the valuable elements, cross and keeled
arch windows were conserved. and in one in particular the Challant coat
of arms was carved on a stone.
A small monument with a chapel
located upstream of the Putat fortress dates back to the 2000s, in
memory of the victims of the October 2000 flood.
As religious monuments the following should be noted:
the church
of San Maurizio and the 15th-18th century bell tower.
The hermitage
of Saint-Julien, in the valley of the same name.
The Ramoliva cross,
an example of 15th century sculpture, is located in the Ramolivaz
locality at the junction of the main road with the path that once led to
the castle. A copy of the cross was placed in the medieval village of
Turin.
The crucifix found in 1991 in the attic of the parish church,
belonging to the series of Saint-Voult dell'Arco d'Augusto of Aosta.
MAV
In Fénis there is the seat of the Museum of traditional Aosta
Valley handicrafts (MAV), which collects the best examples of the
traditional handicraft activities of the region. The Museum exhibits
about 700 objects that highlight the evolution of Aosta Valley
craftsmanship, from ancient times to the artisan productions of the
present day.
From Fénis, in Roman times, passed the Via delle Gallie, a Roman
consular road built by Augustus to connect the Po Valley with Gaul.
The history of Fénis has always been linked to that of the Challant
family, who ordered the construction of the castle, today one of the
symbols of the Aosta Valley. On the model of Fénis, in 1884 the castle
of the medieval village of Valentino in Turin was built.
In the
fascist era, the municipality was merged with that of Nus.
During
the Second World War, the Val Clavalité area and that of Fénis were the
headquarters of the partisan brigades led by Émile Lexert (1911-1944).
Symbols
The coat of arms and banner of the municipality of Fénis
were granted with the decree of the President of the Republic of 6
February 1985.
«Silver, at the castle of Fénis in gules, seen
from the edge; to the party leader: in the first, in black, to the
linden rooted in gold; in the second, red, with two silver keys,
decussate, with trifoliate handles and upturned wits»
The
composition of the municipal coat of arms takes its cue from the coat of
arms of the Challants, ancient lords of the place, who held the
castellany (later barony) of Fénis from the 12th century to 1716 (in
silver, on the head red, on the crossing band over all black) . The
figures in the head refer to the Tillier noble family, who wore a silver
coat of arms, in natural linden, planted on the green grassy
countryside; to the chief gules, loaded with two silver keys, passed in
decusse. The castle of Fénis is depicted in the center of the shield.
The gonfalon is a party cloth of red and black.
The municipality of Fénis extends to Envers about 13 kilometers east
of Aosta. Most of the municipal territory occupies a side valley, the
Val Clavalité, particularly wild, wedged between the Champdepraz Valley
and the Val di Cogne.
Seismic classification: zone 4 (very low
seismicity).
The climate is typically alpine, with cold winters and cool summers.
The location of Envers makes the climate much colder in winter and early
spring than on the Adret side.
The very harsh climate, not very
favorable to the development of human settlements, has preserved the
forest which still today extends almost uninterruptedly from the edge of
the town up to about 2000m above sea level on an area of 2,236 hectares,
about 32.7% of the municipal area.
Nonetheless, the lower part of
the municipal territory has always been fertile and cultivated, as
evidenced by some toponyms in French, such as "Cerise" (= cherry),
"Pommier" (= apple orchard) and "Tillier" (= place where the lindens).
Val Clavalite
Val Clavalité is a side valley that extends over a
vast area of the municipality of Fénis.
It begins with Colle di
Fénis which connects it on one side with the Champorcher valley and on
the other with the Cogne valley and ends near the town.
Punta
Tersiva, with its 3,513 meters of height, is the highest mountain in the
municipality of Fénis and dominates the plain of Clavalité. It is also
the second highest peak of the Unité des Communes valdôtaines
Mont-Émilius, of which Fénis is a part, second only to Mont Émilius.
The economy of Fénis is based on the tertiary sector. Agriculture and
livestock have gradually lost importance in the last 50 years. The
industrial sector is represented by a hydroelectric plant which draws
water from the Clavalité stream. Of mostly historical significance is a
now rare sawmill that runs on a water wheel.
Telecommunications
In small towns like Fénis, telecommunications are of paramount
importance. Here is the list of telecommunications services available in
the municipal area.
digital TV
Digital Terrestrial: yes
(digital signal only)
Satellite TV: yes (Astra and Hotbird
satellites)
IPTV: yes (Alice Home TV by Telecom Italia available)
The fractions
In Fénis there are 13 hamlets located between 520 m
and 620 m above sea level, with the exception of Les Crêtes, at a lower
altitude, and Chénoz, Tsan Plan and La Cerise at a higher altitude.
In the past there were small groups of houses - Molinaz, Pareynaz,
Chez Cuignon, Chez Fontillon, Rovarey and Ramolivaz - which were later
merged into the larger hamlets. Wooden signs with old names have
recently been installed to preserve their memory.
According to
the pronunciation of the Aosta Valley patois, the toponyms mentioned
above must be pronounced by omitting the final "z", therefore for
example. "molìna", as for many other toponyms and surnames of the Aosta
Valley and neighboring regions (Savoie, Alta Savoia and Valais).
Streets
Fénis is connected to the neighboring municipalities
through the SR 13 which in turn is connected to both the State Road 26
and the A5 Turin-Aosta-Courmayeur motorway through the Nus exit.
There is a bus service on the SAVDA Aosta - Saint-Marcel - Nus - Fénis
line.
Railways
The closest railway station is the Nus station
(Turin/Aosta line), 2 km from the town centre.