Bard

Bard, a fortress and village in the Italian province of Turin, situated on the left bank of the Dora Baltea, about 23 miles SE. of Aosta. When the French crossed the St Bernard in 1800, the fortress of Bard, manned by 400 Austrians, maintained for ten days a resistance to their further advance into Italy. Ultimately Napoleon contrived to elude the vigilance of the garrison, and passed by a mountain-track during the night. Bard was taken a short time after by the French, and razed, but in 1825 it was restored. Pop. about 450.