Becca France

There is a peak in the mountain range of Valle d’Aosta region, that has a particular story. The name of this peak is Becca France. Early in the morning (the story tells it was 6 o’clock) on July sixth 1564, a huge landslide broke away from the eastern side of the mountain.

The village named Thora located below Becca France, was completely destroyed and its inhabitants, approximately 500 people, were killed by the fury of nature. There appears to have been no clues of this disaster.

Thora was strategically located in the valley connecting the main Aosta valley with the Gran San Bernardo valley and, consequently, with France. Therefore it was an important village for the trade of goods.

After the disaster, Thora was rebuilt on the other side of the valley, in front of the destroyed face of Becca France and it was named Thouraz. Nowadays Thouraz is almost completely abandoned, but it still is in a fantastic position in the entry point of a wonderful valley encompassed by high mountains.

To get the top of Becca France – 2312 meters high – is not so easy. Starting from the hamlet of Bellon, the first part of the path winds inside the forest and it is very steep. The last part runs exactly on the ridge on the mountain where the landslide occurred, leaving a vertical face. Therefore extreme caution is required in this last part of the path.

Here below you can admire the most important peaks you can see from the top of Becca France.

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Click images to see their description.