Val Veny

South-west of Courmayeur, Val Veny opens beneath the Mont Blanc massif and climbs to the French border at Col de la Seigne. Framed by the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey and the Aiguilles des Glaciers, and fed by the Brenva and Miage glaciers, the valley contains glaciers, milky lakes, pasture flats and a pilgrim sanctuary.

Why it matters

Val Veny is the southern half of the Mont Blanc destination's valley pair, and it holds the massif's most dramatic Italian glacier scenery. The Brenva tongue descends almost to the valley floor at its mouth, the Miage spreads its dark debris-covered snout across the head, and the meadow flats of Plan Veny carry the Dora river between them. The valley includes the Italian side of Col de la Seigne and a landscape of high mountain views.

What to notice

The valley's landscape includes distinct areas. At the entrance stands the sanctuary of Notre-Dame de la Guérison, a small pilgrimage church tucked against the slope. The middle flats of Plan Veny, crossed by the river and backed by the Brenva ice, show the valley at its most pastoral. Higher up, Lac Combal sits in the flattened old glacier bed, and beyond it the Pyramides Calcaires — eroded limestone towers rise from the moraine near Lac Combal. The Miage lake lies below the glacier wall. The right-orographic flank includes Chécrouit and Lac Chécrouit, amid larch pasture with views of the massif.

Context and history

The Miage and Brenva glaciers carved the valley; their retreat shaped its moraine amphitheatres and outwash plains. The route over Col de la Seigne has connected the Aosta Valley with the Beaufortain and Chamonix country for centuries, long before the modern Tour du Mont Blanc fixed the itinerary. Pasture and dairying structured the valley's economy, with hamlets such as La Visaille and refuges including Elisabetta and Maison Vieille inheriting the herding network. The sanctuary at the valley mouth grew around a reputation for healing — the Virgin is credited with the cure of the sick — and remains part of the valley's devotional landscape. The valley's contemporary landscape reflects the challenge of balancing conservation and public access.