Ayas French pronunciationⓘ (Arpitan: Ayâs[3] or Ayah; Gressoney Walser: Ajats; Aiàs between 1939 and 1945[3]) is a comune sparso[4] in the Aosta Valley region of northwestern Italy, with 1359 inhabitants in 2010.

[5] It is made up of several frazioni (locally officially called hameaux, in French), the two major ones being Antagnod which holds the town hall and the main parish, and Champoluc.

It is the principal source of the Évançon, which flows down the Val d'Ayas and empties into the Dora Baltea (French: Doire baltée).

In the opposite direction from the Monte Rosa Massif is Dzerbion, a 2,720 metre mountain in the shape of a pyramid, which separated the comune of Ayas from that of Saint-Vincent.

With respect to flora, the landscape of Ayas is dominated by various species of Alpine plant, such as the cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), the gentian (Gentiana acaulis) and the spring pasque flower (Pulsatilla vernalis).

A good portion of the val d'Ayas thus came into the possession of the Challant family and received the name "Vallée de Challant-Ayas".

However the valley was not completely controlled by this powerful feudal family - the Abbey of St Maurice had ultimate sovereignty over the land.

Like all the other comuni of the Aosta Valley, Ayas suffered from high emigration at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.

Thus, today, it contains more than twenty religious buildings, including churches, chapels, sanctuaries, grottoes and shrines all painted and connected to particular artistic genres.

The roof with a frame composed of tree trunks is covered over by flagstone - flat stones typical of the Walser landscape.

In addition, the people of Ayas painted their houses in the same way as their churches, so it is not unusual for passers-through to encounter representations of the Madonna, Jesus, the Saints and the Sacred Family.

Apart from official French and Italian, in addition to the patois valdôtain, the local population also understand Piedmontese as a result of the geographical proximity and historical links with Canavese.

Based on the tax returns of 2006, published in 2007, Ayas is the richest comune in Italy: on average the citizens earn over €66,000 per year.

Thus in the course of the year the commune and residents offer many activities to holidaymakers to discover the beauty of the territory and culture of Ayas.