Itinerary

1. Aosta walking tour: wonderful Roman town surrounded by the Alps

   • The guided tour of Aosta will take you to discover the ancient Augusta Praetoria founded by the Romans to control the areas north of Italy but also from nearby France and Switzerland. 
   • We start by admiring the perfectly preserved Roman Bridge located above the ancient course of the Buthier river, near one of the most famous Roman monuments in Aosta, the Arch of Augustus, built to celebrate the victory of the Emperor who then gave the name to town.
   • Entering the historic center we visit the beautiful Collegiate Church of Sant 'Orso, a set of buildings that includes a Lombard Romanesque bell tower, the church with frescoes, mosaics, a wooden choir and a suggestive crypt, the Priory, the Renaissance residence of the Prior and the magnificent Cloister of Sant 'Orso in Romanesque style with 40 capitals illustrating scenes from the Gospel; we will also notice a curiosity, the Tree of S. Orso, a tree that became a National Monument planted by the same Saint in the 1500s.
   • We continue the tour arriving at the monumental Porta Praetoria, the main gateway to the town with three openings, from the Roman era; not far away the Roman Theater, which we will admire externally, with its 22 meters high facade and the wonderful panorama of the Alps, one of the symbols of Aosta and of Roman architecture. Walking through the characteristic streets of the historic center we arrive in the main square of the town, Piazza Chanoux with the Alpino in the center, a monument to the Aosta Valley soldier, and the most beautiful historic buildings such as the neoclassical-style Town Hall with rich decorations and two fountains about the rivers of Aosta and the historic Caffè Nazionale on the remains of the Convent of San Francesco; on the elegant square we also find the 18th century Hotel des Etats which became famous as the seat of the local parliament that depended on the King.
   • We end the guided tour by visiting the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the most important and ancient religious building in Aosta erected on the sacred area of the Roman Forum, with two Romanesque bell towers 60 meters high and the beauty of the Renaissance atrium with terracotta statues and frescoes on the story of the Virgin Mary; inside we can admire precious cycles of frescoes, stained glass windows, mosaics on the pavement and a beautiful 15th century cloister.