The Locanda-Restaurant “La Clusaz” is situated in Gignod, in the hearth of Aosta Valley, along the road that arrives at Gran San Bernardo Pass.
From 1987 Maurizio Grange and Sevi Math work together inspired by a great passion in order to offer their guests a pleasant welcome.
A bit of history
At the Celts age the road where it is located the Auberge La Clusaz was a path which was transformed into a roman road leading in Switzerland and Germany.
“Mons Jovis”, the name the Romans used to call Gran San Bernardo Pass, was considered the most important crossing point of the Alps. The roman legions as well as the troops under the command of Charlemagne passed along this road.
Some centuries later, in the XIX century, Napoléon Bonaparte crossed over the Pass to reach Marengo, where he won the famous and well-known battle.
Around 1050 “Bernardo di Mentone”, the archdeacon of Aosta built at the top of the Pass an hospice which could offer shelter and assistance to the travellers. From the very beginning the management of the Hospice, which had been restored and enlarged along the centuries, was entrusted to Saint Augustines’ monks. Still nowadays they continue to run it with loyalty and engagement.
During the centuries the Saint Bernard dog was a constant and loyal presence at the Hospice helping the monks to assist and rescue the endangered travellers. This huge animal was trained to seek the lost travelers or the people buried by snow. This tradition is still going on nowadays: at the beginning of spring the dogs arrive at the Hospice after they spent the long and cold winter in Martigny.
The ancient hospitality tradition of the Gran San Bernardo Valley is reflected in the history of “Auberge La Clusaz”. In the XII century the Auberge was a well-known stopping point and the first written evidence of this role dated back to 1140.
In 1820 Nicola Gerbore bought the Auberge and decided to convert it into a farm. The building, which was restored different times through the following decades, still keeps today a cast iron slab which reproduces the heraldic shield of the Archdeacon of Aosta René Ribitel, dating back to the XVIII century. This slab can be admired in the restaurant, at the top of the fireplace.
In 1925 Graziano Grange, the grandfather of Maurizio Grange, the present owner of the Auberge, bought the building “La Clusaz” and strongly wanted to bring back the original role of it, that is restaurant and hospitality.