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Orientation
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The centre of town is marked by
Piazza E. Chanoux
and its pavement cafAŠs, from where Via Porta Pretoria and Via Sant'Anselmo lead east, forming the main axis of the town centre and the principal street for window-shopping and people-watching. At the far end, the
Porta Pretoria
is one of the town's most impressive sights: two parallel triple-arched gateways which formed the main entrance into the Roman town. The space in between was for soldiers to keep a check on visitors to the town, and a family of medieval nobles later made their home above it, building a tower which now houses temporary exhibitions.
North of the gate there are further relics of the Roman occupation in the Teatro Romano (daily: April-Sept 9am-8pm; rest of year 9am-6.30pm; free), of which a section of the four-storeyed facade remains, 22m high and pierced with arched windows. Unfortunately for some years it has been hidden behind scaffolding, and no one will risk estimating a date for completion of the restoration. Close by, the medieval Torre Fromage at Via du Baillage is now a contemporary art exhibition-space (daily 9.30am-12.30pm & 2.30-6.30pm). A short walk east of here, outside the main town walls off Via Sant'Anselmo, the church of Sant'Orso houses a number of tenth-century frescoes behind its dull facade, hidden up in the roof where you can examine them at close quarters from specially constructed walkways - though you'll need to find the sacristan to get up there. If you can't find him, content yourself with the fifteenth-century choir stalls, carved with a menagerie of holy men and animals, ranging from bats and monkeys to a tonsured monk. There are even better carvings on the eye-level capitals of the intimate Romanesque cloisters (daily 9am-6.30pm) - mostly scenes from the story of Christ, with an undue emphasis on donkeys and sheep. The priorate has terracotta decorations on its outside walls and an octagonal tower which rises above the complex. Nearby are the recently discovered fifth-century remains of the Basilica of San Lorenzo (daily 9am-7pm; free), which are well-explained (in Italian) and worth a peek on your way past. At the far end of Via Sant'Anselmo, the Arco di Augusto was erected in 25 BC to celebrate the seizure of the territory from the local Salassi tribe and to honour Emperor Augustus, after whom the town was named Augusta Praetoria (Aosta is a corruption of Augusta). Though the arch loses something islanded in a sea of traffic and topped by an ugly eighteenth-century roof, it's a sturdy-looking monument, the mountains behind only adding to its measure of dignity. Beyond is a well-preserved Roman bridge , its single arch spanning the dried-up bed of the River Buthier.
On the other side of the centre of town, the
Foro Romano
on Piazza Giovanni XXIII is the misleading name for another Roman relic, a vaulted passage under the actual forum area, the purpose of which is unclear. Nearby, is the
Museo Archaeologico Regionale
(daily 9am-7pm; free), with interesting exhibits on the settlements based around Aosta since Celtic times. The
Cattedrale
next door looks unpromising from the outside, but masks a Gothic interior with even more fantastically carved choir stalls than Sant'Orso's, with a mermaid, lion and snail among the saints. Remains of a fourth-century baptistry are visible through the floor; better are the mosaics on the presbytery pavement showing the two rivers of earthly paradise and Christ, holding the sun and moon, surrounded by the symbols of the months. There are more treasures in the cathedral
museum
(April-Sept Mon-Sat 9.30-11.30am & 3-5.30pm, Sun 3-5.30pm; rest of the year by appointment, tel 0165.40.413; L4000/a?Ŧ2.07) - gold-, silver- and gem-encrusted reliquaries and equally ornate chalices, crucifixes and caskets for relics. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Italy,
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