CULTURE, HISTORY, TRADITION
Aosta...
This small town is surrounded by magnificent peaks, among the highest in the Alpine chain, which draws its frame and makes it unique in every season of the year. Its centre preserves a historical and archaeological heritage of great prestige: the foundation of the Roman colony Augusta Praetoria Salassorum has left within the walls that surround the town an incredible testimony still alive of the past, to which have been added the remains of more recent ones, such as the medieval one, which has given the town magnificent religious monuments that are still perfectly preserved today.
In addition to being a real open-air museum, the town preserves numerous finds from ancient times in the Regional Archaeological Museum.
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Aosta is also a town that lives in the present, opening up to a very rich world of cultural experiences and more, such as shopping, food and wine lovers.
Discover Roman Aosta
The historic centre of Aosta preserves incredible evidence of the Roman era in every corner, which saw the foundation of the Augusta Praetoria Salassorum colony in 25 BC. C. In that year the majestic Arch of Augustus was erected, built in honor of the great emperor to celebrate the victory over the Salassi. It is an imposing construction with a single arch framed by Corinthian semi-columns, in whose arch a wooden crucifix, the Saint-Vout, was placed in the Middle Ages.
To announce the entrance to the town, the Arch welcomed travelers from Eporedia (Ivrea) who traveled along the Gaul road, crossing the beautiful Roman bridge in the last stretch, a massive single-arched artefact from the Augustan age.
In line with the Arch, along the decumanus maximus, the Porta Pretoria marked the monumental entrance to the eastern walls. Its grandeur can still be admired today by crossing it: three passages have been created from a double curtain wall, a central one at the time reserved for carts and two lateral ones for pedestrians. The Gate is flanked by two rectangular towers and, above, runs a patrol path enclosed by arched windows. On the left, the original walking surface of the Roman road can be seen, submerged three meters.
Near the Porta Pretoria is one of the most significant and spectacular monuments, which has become the symbol of the town: the Roman Theater. The monumental facade is opened by arches with three upper series of windows, beyond which the magnificent peaks that surround Aosta rise, offering a truly suggestive scenario. The structure retains the end wall of the cavea and the restored orchestra. Of the nearby Amphitheater, however, only seven surviving arches are visible, incorporated into a religious building in the Middle Ages, and the remains of the supporting nucleus of two tiers of steps.
In the western area of ​​the town stood the Roman Forum, the heart of the economic and political life of the town, which has only partially been brought to light. Instead, you can visit the splendid Cryptoporticus, connected to the porticoes of the Forum: it’s a gallery with a barrel vault divided into two rows of lowered arches, supported by massive travertine pillars, probably to regularize the land on which the sacred area was built, later reused as a grain store.
Discover Medieval Aosta
The medieval era has left in the town of Aosta wonderful evidence of the religious life of the time and monuments that have joined the splendid vestiges of the Roman era.
The Cathedral, built around the year 1000 in honour of the Assumption, stands a short distance from the ancient Roman Forum. It is a Romanesque church framed by two apsidal bell towers, with a plan with three naves closed by five apses, covered by a trussed roof, and equipped with a crypt that preserves Longobard and Carolingian capitals. The neoclassical facade of 1848 encloses the Renaissance one of the atrium, decorated with frescoes, lunettes and an architectural and sculptural elevation. In the attic of the church there is an important cycle of 11th-century frescoes, while in the area of ​​the presbytery, there is a beautiful carved wooden choir. Behind the choir is the Cathedral Treasure Museum, which collects important religious objects from various churches in the diocese.
The beautiful Collegiata di Sant'Orso preserves monuments of great historical and artistic value: a church with three naves with a crypt, semicircular apses and trussed roof, which preserves interesting cycles of frescoes and a beautiful wooden choir from the end of the 15th century; the ancient cloister which houses precious historiated capitals depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments and episodes from the legendary life of Sant'Orso; the priory built in the 15th century as the residence of Giorgio di Challant with an interesting frescoed chapel; finally the beautiful Romanesque bell tower with three and four-light windows.
In the nearby early Christian Church of San Lorenzo, now an exhibition venue, there is an archaeological itinerary showing the remains of the ancient church and the annexed cemetery area.
A Modern Town
Aosta also preserves many buildings and testimonies of the modern era. Its main square, Piazza Chanoux, overlooks the majestic neoclassical building of the Hôtel de Ville and, next to it, the historic building of the Hôtel des États. Along the main streets of the centre you can also admire elegant eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings.
The streets in the centre are packed with shops that attract town shopping lovers, cafés and restaurants that offer food and wine tours to promote the excellence of the area.
The town of Aosta also offers a rich cultural program of exhibitions, events and shows all year round, such as the millenary Fiera di Sant'Orso, the historic Aosta Valley craft fair, and the Saison culturelle.
