Bionaz

Bionaz (French: [bjɔna] ^ⓘ; Valdôtain: Bioun-a; Biona from 1939 to 1946) is a comune sparso^[3] which extends over 143 square kilometres (55 sq mi) of the North-Eastern Valpelline area of the Aosta Valley region of northwest Italy. The population of about 240 is dispersed among 20 or more small alpine villages and hamlets including Plan-de-Veyne, which is the main centre and the capoluogo (locally and officially also chef-lieu, in French). The commune belongs to the Unité des communes valdôtaines du Grand-Combin.

Bionaz
Comune
Comune di Bionaz Commune de Bionaz
Coat of arms
Location of the commune within the Aosta Valley region
Location of Bionaz
Bionaz Location of Bionaz in Italy Show map of Italy Bionaz Bionaz (Aosta Valley) Show map of Aosta Valley
Coordinates: 45°52′N 7°25′E
Country	Italy
Region	Aosta Valley
Province	none
Frazioni	See Villages, hamlets and other centres
Government
• Mayor	Armando Chentre (elected 2005-05-09)
Area [1]
• Total	142.82 km2 (55.14 sq mi)
Elevation	1,606 m (5,269 ft)
Population  (31 December 2023)[2]
• Total	221
• Density	1.5/km2 (4.0/sq mi)
Demonym	Bionassins
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	11010
Dialing code	0165
Patron saint	Saint Margaret
Saint day	20 July
Website	Official website

Villages, hamlets and other centres

View of the Bionaz valley

Place-Moulin Lake [fr]

The commune's statute^[4] designates the following frazioni (locally officially called hameaux, in French):

• Les Balmes
• Chentre
• Chez-Chenoux
• Chez-Noyer
• Chez-les-Merloz
• Les Crêtes
• Les Dzovennoz
• Lexert
• Les Ley^[5]
• Le Moulin
• Plan-de-Veyne
• Perquis
• Les Places
• Pouillayes
• La Quelod
• Les Rey
• Les Rus (Ru)^[6]
• Les Vagère
• Le Vianoz

The following localities, villages and other places not formally designated as hameaux, are also listed in the statute:

• Chamein
• Chez-Badin
• Le Clos-Neuf
• La Ferrère
• La Léchère
• Prarayer
• Propéraz

Mountain huts

Within the boundaries of the commune, there are also three mountain huts:

Refuge Prarayer

• Refuge Crête Sèche
• Refuge Prarayer
• Refuge Aoste
• Refuge Nacamuli au col Collon

Notes

1. "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
2. "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
3. The expression comune sparso means a comune whose administrative centre is located in a hamlet whose name does not coincide with the name of the comune itself.
4. Commune de Bionaz - Statuts communaux.
5. Les Ley is named in the statute as Ly.
6. Les Rus is named in the statute as Rû.

References

• Région autonome Vallée d'Aoste (11 January 2005), Bulletin officiel de la Région autonome Vallée d'Aoste (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2005