Courmayeur


Courmayeur is a town and comune in northern Italy, in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley.

Geography

At an elevation of above sea level, it is located at the foot of the southern side of Mont Blanc, at the highest point in the Alps and western Europe, and is crossed by the Dora Baltea river.
Courmayeur shares administration of Mont Blanc with its neighboring municipality of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains in France, and is consequently able to claim the title of highest commune in Italy.
Courmayeur also shares access to the glacial ski run of the Vallée Blanche with another French town, Chamonix, which sits at the opposite, northern, side of the Mont Blanc massif.

History

The toponym Courmayeur has been mentioned as Curia majori, Corte Maggiore, Cormoyeu, Cormaior, Cormaior, Cormaggior, Cormaior and Cormaieur. Nowadays' toponym was first confirmed by Édouard Aubert, Joseph-Marie Henry and Amé Gorret.
It became a popular tourist destination when alpinism arose, thanks to its proximity to Mont Blanc.
Under the Fascist regime and its "Italianist" rule, the town was briefly renamed Cormaiore. Courmayeur was reestablished in 1948 alongside all other French toponyms in the Aosta Valley.
In 2013 according to the regional law 61 a referendum was carried out to change the official name into Courmayeur-Mont-Blanc, but there was no sufficient support.

Landmarks

Courmayeur is cited as "Italy's best all-round ski resort", and contains the Alpine Botanical Garden Saussurea, which describes itself as Europe's highest botanical garden. The Church of Saint-Pantaléon dates to the 18th century.
In the summer months Courmayeur is a popular destination for hikers.
The nearby village of La Palud is the base station of the Skyway Monte Bianco, the cable car to the Pointe Helbronner. This links to the Vallée Blanche Aerial Tramway going to the Aiguille du Midi, which connects to the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, the cable car from Chamonix.
Notre Dame de Guérison sanctuary stands at the foot out Mont Chétif.

Sister cities