For some historians the town's name derives from Calventius Calvus, a Roman veteran who was rewarded with the lands after the division of the area, taken from the primitive inhabitants, by others, from "capra in saltu", name assigned by Terentius Varro, then changed into Charvensod. A town located at the centre of the Region, between Aosta, Pollein, Brissogne, Cogne and Gressan. It is composed of two main districts; the main centre, located at the top of a hill, at two kilometers from Aosta, and the district of Plan Felinaz on the Dora Baltea. Nearby are located also the villages of Ampaillan, Felinaz and Pont-Suaz. It is part of the Comunità Montana Mont Emilius. The resort offers great hiking itineraries with various difficulties and durability. Interesting are the paths in the direction of the mountain area of Arpisson at about 2000 meters, past the creek Comboè and in the direction of the Chapel of St Colomba, along winding roads and forests trails and along the streams. In Charvensod it is possible to practice all sports-related to the local traditions of the Val d'Aosta mountains, with some equipment made of particular local materials.
Archaeological findings allow to hypothesize that the region was already inhabited during the prehistoric times: around 3000 BC a community of shepherds and hunters settled here. Celtic-Ligurian residents, called Salassi, built a settlement here, till in 143 B.C. were defeated by the Romans who, fifty years later founded in the nearby the colony of Eporedia, today Ivrea, and, in 25 B.C., the military colony Augusta Praetoria Salassorum, today Aosta. After the fall of Western Roman Empire, the Val d'Aosta was subjected in the VI century to the domination of the Burgundians, of the Ostrogoths and of the Lombards in 568, defeated by the King of Burgundy a few years later. From that moment onwards it became the territory of the Franks up to 888, when it returned to the Kingdom of Burgundy. With the death of Rudolph III, in the year 1000, Burgundy was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire and later the town became part of the County of Savoy. Until the XIII century, Charvensod was the theatre of a succession of battles between the feudal lords for dominance of the territory.
Not to miss:
The Mother Church, cited in an official document as early as 1180. The current parish, built in 1622 and enlarged in 1830, preserves inside a carved and gilded wooden altar dating from the XVIII century, two side altars of the same period, a reliquary in copper and a cross of the XV century.
The Hermitage of San Grato is a small white chapel located at 1700 meters in the district of Peroulaz. The first official mention dates back to the XIII century, it was restored and enlarged in 1754. On the spire of the bell tower, there is a statue of St. Grateful, created in 1863 by sculptor Thomasset
The Chapel of Notre Dame de Pitié in the district of Suaz Port, erected in the XVI century and features a large fresco on the outside, an XVIII century altar and a XVI century series of wooden polychrome statues.
The small Chapel of St Colomba, which is located on the edge of a forest, built in 1620 to about 900 meters above sea level. It was enlarged in 1886.
The Chapel of St. Anne in the village of Felinaz, which presents an altar inside the XVIII century and a canvas, painted by Carrel in 1864, representing St. Anne.
The Chapel of the Holy Fabien and Sébastien, built in 1633. It submitted further refurbishments and was embellished with a choir and a bell tower.
The Chapel of San Pantaleone in Sèrèmont founded in 1621.
The Chapel of Comboè at 2100 meters. It was built in 1836 and entitled to St. Mary Magdalene