Etroubles Veillà

The past and the present on the Via Francigena. A veillà evocative of moments of "d'antan".

Etroubles is situated along the via Francigena , the famous pilgrim route that once connected the British Isles to Roma, across Europe and the Mont Joux pass (now Gran San Bernardo). The mediaeval village of Etroubles, situated centrally in the valley, has had, the function of small local capital since ancient times, a look-out and services centre. Since 1984, the Pro Loco in Etroubles,has been holding, la “Veillà”, an extremely suggestive representation, in August each year.. For one night, its inhabitants

re-evoke old,past customs: along thetown's main street and its side streets, the oldagricultural professions are revived (from the processing of fontina cheese, the threshing of wheat, sheep-breeding and the processing of wool), to handicrafts (iron working, the sawyers, the seamstresses and "landzette" packaging,and the carnival costumes of Coumba Freide – another name for the valley - reminiscent of the passage of Napoleonic troops), to social life (washerwomen and laundry at the fountain,

morra players, smugglers, chimney-sweeps, the teacher and the school-children). The various restaurants all boast different specialities: mixed grills with vegetables, minestrone soup, raspberries with cream and carnival pastries, "seuppa freida" (hard, black, bread, soaked in wine), coffee and Valle d'Aosta wine. Plus: lots of traditional live music and a mask parade.