It is hexagonal, like the keep of the castle of Pont-Saint-Martin with which it kept visual contact: the two towers and the fort of Bard formed a signalling network over the mouth of the valley. Its other name, tour d'Aviès, states the job it did: keeping watch.
What to see
The tower stands at about 540 metres on the shaded side, dominating the plain of Pont-Saint-Martin and watching the way into the Lys valley. The crenellation is built so that each merlon matches a squared corner, reinforced with ashlars. The entrance door is raised about four metres above the ground, as in the early Valdostan keeps: you reached it by a ladder that could be pulled up in an attack. Around it you can still make out the defensive curtain that protected the more exposed sides; inside there were wooden floors.
Visiting
You climb from Pramotton, at 300 metres: follow the power station canal, then a steep mule track heads into a chestnut wood. The walk is graded easy, under an hour, with 250 metres of ascent, and the tower is freely accessible. The date of construction remains uncertain, probably the twelfth century. Documents assign it in 1214 to Ugo di Bard, and in 1386 two men were detached from the fort of Bard for a month to garrison it, so that it would not fall into the hands of the Tuchini.
Our editors' tip
The ascent is short but the ground is steep: wear walking shoes, not town ones. In autumn the chestnut wood is worth the climb as much as the tower.