At 1630 meters above sea level along the Via delle Gallie which went up from Ariolica (La Thuile) to Alpis Graia (Piccolo San Bernardo Pass) there is the village of Pont Serrand.
The toponym explains its position near a deep gorge cut by the waters of the Dora di Verney stream which the Romans already crossed with a wooden bridge of which traces have now been lost. At the entrance to the village there is the chapel dedicated to Saints Bernardo and Maurizio.
The presence of various houses, mills, stables, a guard post, accommodation and refreshments for travellers, testify to how the life of the village was closely linked to transit to and from the hill. Travellers, pilgrims, traders but also troops and armies have passed through here.
It is no coincidence that just above Pont Serrand, at the entrance to the Vallon de Chavannes in the Orgères area, there is an archaeological site which is the subject of excavation and study campaigns by the University of Turin. In this strategic place, a high-altitude settlement was brought to light whose masonry structures date back to a period between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD. These were then incorporated into the foundations of a late medieval house-fort and subsequently into a defensive line of more modern age. Documents and studies carried out on the many finds discovered have made it possible to establish that Orgères was a permanent and non-seasonal settlement: people lived there all year round, cattle and sheep and goats were raised, cheese was made, wool and fabrics were worked and the metal.
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