1.951 meters
Soussun Soutsùn
Les Fusines Li Fejeune – 1.700 m
Blanchard Biantchart – 1.724 m
Rovinal Rovénal – 1.709 m
Praz-Sec Pra-Sec – 1.700 m
Les Péyoz Li Péyo – 1.725 m
Les Droles Li Drole – 1.757 m
Bernosin Bernozìn – 1.750 m
Reachable on foot from the Crest cable car, or from the opposite side via a ski slope connecting the village to the Monterosa Ski area, Soussun is one of those small settlements located at altitudes between 1,800 and 2,000 meters, around the alpine belt where tall vegetation gives way to pastures and where fieldwork, wrested from the mountain through the labor of generations who created steep terraces to cultivate rye and barley, is today replaced by livestock farming.
It is a territory historically marked by the passage of the Walser people who, during the Middle Ages, migrated from Valais toward the upper Val d’Ayas and the Gressoney Valley, bringing with them their cultural and religious heritage.
Nestled in a small basin free from vegetation but surrounded by a dense forest of larches and firs, Soussun (Soutsùn in patois) was an ancient village of rascards permanently inhabited all year round and therefore completely self-sufficient. The community relied on an oven and a mill, dated on the lintel as far back as 1611, which used the water of the nearby stream, now restored and functioning again (2023).
Of particular interest for its structure is a large 16th-century stadel or rascard (Stadel Soussun), with a vaulted stone room supported by a central column, the subject of restoration and enhancement work.
The Chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, was erected by the Vuillermet family, nicknamed Lenfant, and blessed in 1839. In the first half of the 19th century, Soussun experienced a certain demographic revival, as evidenced by the dates on the buildings restored and adapted to new needs.
Map of Soussun
The mill
The structure before you is the Soussun mill, an authentic witness to Alpine rural life, built in 1611, as attested by the inscription on the lintel of the entrance door. This date, preceding the terrible plague that struck the Ayas Valley in 1630, reveals the historical significance of the building. The mill, operational until the 1950s, was for centuries a fundamental hub for the community, where primarily rye—the staple grain of the local diet—was ground. The village of Soussun, perched at 1,951 meters above sea level on a natural terrace, still preserves its traditional character intact, with about a dozen buildings including a chapel and a bread oven, elements that testify to Alpine communal life. The mill, having passed through the hands of historic families such as the Vuillermet and the Grosjacques, was recently restored in 2023. The restoration involved the reconstruction of the roof and the repair of the wooden mechanism, preserving its original horizontal paddle wheel, the ritrecine, which directly drives the vertical shaft and the pair of millstones made of serizzo, a typical stone sourced from the quarries of Val d’Ossola. This is a simple yet effective system, free of gears, which aptly illustrates the traditional techniques of harnessing hydraulic energy in the small mountain communities of the Aosta Valley. Today, the mill, entrusted on loan for use to the Municipality of Ayas, is a cultural asset open for educational and demonstrative purposes, a precious link to the rural past of the region.
Stadel Soussun
The building, dating back to the 16th century, has been preserved over time thanks to constant maintenance work and today appears in its original form as an example of rural construction. In the masonry ground-floor level, the extraordinary vaulted ceiling made of stones laid on edge can be seen in its entirety, a very rare example in the whole Val d’Ayas.
