Courmayeur (; ; Valdôtain: ) is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

, in the autonomous region of

Aosta Valley The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

History

The toponym ''Courmayeur'' has been mentioned as ''Curia majori'' (1233–1381), ''Corte Maggiore'' (1620), ''Cormoyeu'' (1648), ''Cormaior'' (1680), ''Cormaior'' (Vissher, 1695), ''Cormaggior'' (L'Isle, 1707), ''Cormaior'' (Stagnoni, 1772) and ''Cormaieur'' (Martinel, 1799). The present toponym was first confirmed by Édouard Aubert (''La Vallée d'Aoste'', 1860), Joseph-Marie Henry (''Histoire populaire de la Vallée d'Aoste'', 1929) and Amé Gorret (''Guide de la Vallée d'Aoste'', 1877). 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. The Mont Blanc Tunnel, connecting Courmayeur with

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

, opened in 1965, and provides an important road link between Italy and France. In 2013, in accordance with regional law 61 (''Dénomination officielle des communes de la Vallée d'Aoste et protection de la toponymie locale''), a referendum was carried out to change the official name to ''Courmayeur-Mont-Blanc'',C’est au tour de Courmayeur de vouloir s’appeler "Mont-Blanc"
/ref> but there was insufficient support.

Geography

At an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

, it is located at the foot of the southern side of

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

, at the highest point in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

and

western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

(see

Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven. In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...

), and is crossed by the

Dora Baltea The Dora Baltea () or Doire Baltée () is a river in the Aosta Valley and in Piedmont, in northwestern Italy. It is a left-hand tributary of the Po and is about long. Name The river's Latin name was ''Duria maior'', ''Duria Baltica'' or ''Duri ...

(fr. ''Doire baltée'') river. Courmayeur shares administration of Mont Blanc with its neighboring municipality of

Saint-Gervais-les-Bains Saint-Gervais-les-Bains () is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region, southeastern France. The village is best known for tourism and has been a po ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and is consequently able to claim the title of highest commune in Italy. Courmayeur also shares access to the

glacial A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

ski run of the ''Vallée Blanche'' with another French town,

, which sits at the opposite, northern, side of the Mont Blanc massif.

Main sights

Courmayeur is cited as "Italy's best all-round ski resort", and contains the Alpine Botanical Garden Saussurea, which describes itself as

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

's highest

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

. The Church of Saint-Pantaléon dates to the 18th century. In the summer months Courmayeur is a popular destination for hikers. The nearby village o
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 The Aiguille du Midi (, "Needle at midday") is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc. Ca ...

, which connects to the ''Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi'', the cable car from

. Notre Dame de Guérison sanctuary stands at the foot of Mont Chétif.

Sports

Biathlon World Championships 1959 The 2nd Biathlon World Championships were held in 1959 in Courmayeur, Italy. The men's 20 km individual and team were the only competitions. Men's results 20 km individual Each shot missing the target gave a penalty of 2 minutes. 20 km te ...

* 2011 World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships * 2012 Italian Figure Skating Championships * Courmayeur Ladies Open * Mont Blanc Trophy * Valle d'Aosta Open

History

Geography

Main sights

Sports

Sister cities

References

External links