The car-free village

Chamois, the town that said no to cars and located at an altitude of 1815 meters in the province of Aosta and near Mount Cervino. It is also the only Italian town on the mainland that can only be reached by cable car that travels from the valley floor, built in 1955, or by walking along an old mule track. Parallel to the cable car there is a cable car for essential services, such as the disposal of municipal waste. The village has many characteristics typical of an alpine village: narrow streets, houses built in wood and stone, rural and medieval houses. There is also a library, a tourist office and places to eat and sleep. Once a week a doctor goes up there specifically, for an hour, to visit those who need it most. Many of the residents of Chamois were born elsewhere but have decided to settle and make a family in this place surrounded by the sound of silence. The young people of the small village, to spend an evening in company with their peers, must necessarily go down to the valley trying to respect the tight schedules of the cable car that will bring them home. Unfortunately, the generational change is very low and the presence of more young people would greatly help the small silent village.