Morgex

Morgex belongs to the upper Aosta Valley, where a cultivated valley floor and surrounding Alpine slopes supported farming, livestock and travel between mountain communities. Vineyards and other fields used favourable ground, while higher pastures allowed seasonal grazing. Roads through the valley connected local settlements with passes leading beyond the Alps, making transport and provisioning important alongside rural production. Weather and snow could sharply change the conditions of movement.

The Tour de l'Archet, with its massive square tower, stands in the centre of Morgex. Its surrounding buildings were added in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and the complex long belonged to the de l'Archet family. The count of Savoy stayed there for general audiences at which his direct subjects paid feudal homage. Alpine warfare also reached the valley: a local historical account records that French forces burned Morgex and neighbouring La Salle in 1691.