Page 221 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

V ALLE D ’ A OST A AND PIEDMONT І 219

originally stood about altered many times since.
2.5 m (8 ft) higher than The interior is Gothic, with finely
at present. Also worth a carved 15th-century choir stalls,
look is the 20 m- (65 ft-) and floor mosaics. Next door,
high façade of the the Museo del Tesoro contains
Roman Theatre. A little a rich collection of statuettes
to the north is the and reliquaries, and a number
elliptical amphitheatre, of impressive medieval tombs.
although this is almost
completely buried R Sant’Orso
The 12th-century cloister, with 40 carved columns of apart from three Via Sant’Orso. Open daily. 7
darkened marble, in Sant’Orso columns, which form East of the town walls is the
part of the convent of architectural highlight of Aosta:
5 Aosta San Giuseppe. In the old town, a medieval complex of church
next to the cathedral, lies the buildings. Sant’Orso itself has an
* 35,000. V @ n Piazza Porta
Pretoria 3 (0165 23 66 27). ( Tue. Roman Forum, or marketplace, unusual Gothic façade with a
∑ lovevda.it with its huge crypto porticus: narrow, tall portal. The interior
the function of this impressive has 11th-century frescoes,
Lying on a plain surrounded by underground gallery remains a crypt hold ing the tomb of
dramatic mountains, the town the subject of speculation. St Orso, patron saint of Aosta,
of Aosta provides a remarkable and a beautiful cloister with
mixture of ancient culture and carved columns and capitals.
spectacular scenery. The
Romans cap tured it from Environs
the Salassian Gauls in The castle at Fénis(see p188),
25 BC, and Aosta is still 12 km (8 miles) east, is one of
dotted with fine Roman the few castles in the Aosta
architecture built in valley with a well-preserved
honour of Emperor interior, including beautiful
Augustus – indeed the frescoes and wooden galleries.
town was once called Augusta Issogne, 38 km (23 miles)
Praetoria, its name only Detail of a medieval mosaic on the south east, is the setting for
evolving into Aosta over the floor of Aosta’s Cattedrale another highly decorated castle,
centuries. The medieval town remod elled around 1490. It has
was later fortified by the R Cattedrale many frescoes and decorative
Challant family and then by the Piazza Papa Giovanni XXIII. Open motifs, including an octagonal
Dukes of Aosta, who added 6:30am– 12:30pm, 2–7:30pm Mon–Fri, fountain with a centrepiece in
towers to the old Roman walls. 7am–noon, 2–6pm Sat & Sun (early the shape of a pomegranate tree.
Modern Aosta is a bustling Sep–Easter: 6:30am–noon, 3–7pm).
crossroads for local industries Museo del Tesoro: Tel 0165 404 13. + Castello di Fénis
and tourists on their way to the Open 3–5:30pm Sat & Sun. Closed Fénis. Tel 0165 76 42 63. Open daily.
mountains. The centre, how ever, during religious services. & Closed Tue (Oct–Feb), 1 Jan, 25 Dec. &
still consists of a delightful grid This relatively modest shrine to + Castello di Issogne
of large squares and surprising St John the Baptist was first built Issogne. Tel 0125 92 93 73. Open daily.
architectural treasures, which in the 12th century, but has been Closed Wed (Oct–Feb), 1 Jan, 25 Dec. &
justify Aosta’s nickname of
“Rome of the Alps”.
T Roman Ruins
Roman Theatre: Via Baillage. Open
9am–7pm daily (Mar: to 6pm; Oct:
to 6:30pm; Nov–Feb: to 5pm).
Roman Forum: Piazza Papa Giovanni
XXIII. Open daily.
In Roman times, entry to Aosta
was over the bridge to the east
of the town (beyond the modern
bridge) and through the Arch of
Augustus. This triumphal arch is
today marred by a roof added in
the 18th century. Ahead stands
the Porta Pretoria, its double
row of stone arches flanked by
a medieval tower; the gateway Some of the impressive ruins standing in the Roman Forum in Aosta

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