This town in the central Aosta Valley gained its standing with the construction of the Via delle Gallie, the Roman road which connected Aosta to the rest of the peninsular. Its name is a reference to the Latin for nine: nine miles to Aosta. Soldiers, merchants and early pilgrims would have been looking forward to Quart (four miles) and, depending on their direction, would have previously passed Diémoz (ten miles).
Commanding access to the pastures, irrigation channels and valleys above, by the middle ages it was a centre of excellence for Fontina cheese, wine and other agriculture. That is when the atmospheric medieval borgo was built.
MTW walkers pass by the iconic castle, first mentioned in the thirteenth century, above the town.