Walking Tour of Aosta

Walking Tour of Aosta

In this very interesting and structured tour we will retrace together the history of the city of Aosta. Starting from the heart of the Roman city and its architectural testimonies, still so alive and vital today, we will follow step by step the events that accompanied the city of Aosta in its transition to the Middle Ages.

Starting from the Forensic Cryptoporticus, the fulcrum of the Roman sacred area, we will go to the nearby Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and I will tell you the secrets of this magnificent testimony of Romanesque architecture which, thanks to its treasures, will immediately immerse us in medieval Aosta.

Aosta is of course known as the Rome of the Alps, but it would be reductive to think that with the end of the Roman Empire the city remained suspended in time. On the contrary, Aosta is rich in monuments and history that go beyond the glorious Roman era and bear witness to a Middle Ages that left the Alpine capital with architectural and artistic testimony of absolute importance. First of all, the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. John. It is an absolute monument to the Romanesque architecture of Valdostan, which hides a real treasure inside: from the remains of the Roman domus and the first religious buildings preserved in the basement to the crypt, from the 12th century floor mosaics to the 15th century wooden choir stalls, from the Cathedral Treasure Museum with the reliquary of Jean de Malines to the extraordinary Ottonian frescoes in the attic.

All you have to do is follow what I show you and look around: the city will tell you about itself through its testimonies, its architecture and its peculiarities.

Finally, we will visit the Collegiata dei Santi Pietro e Orso, with its famous cloister, another incredible example of Romanesque art, a true jewel of medieval Aosta.

There is no place that can compete with the extraordinary palimpsest of the Cathedral, except the Collegiata dei Santi Pietro e Orso. Built in the same period, between the 10th and 11th centuries, the Collegiata is a treasure trove of priceless surprises. One of the best preserved and most enchanting Romanesque cloisters in the peninsula, with capitals of the highest quality, flanks the church with its vaults bearing the effigy of Giorgio di Challant, the 15th century prior who gave the institution a splendour like no other before or after him. For art lovers, there are two treasures: the Ottonian cycle of frescoes in the attic, as in the Cathedral, and the small private chapel of Giorgio di Challant in the Priory, an example of the patron's artistic culture.

A short distance from Sant'Orso is the San Lorenzo complex, an apparently anonymous deconsecrated chapel, under whose foundations one of the oldest and most important early Christian basilicas in the city was discovered during archaeological excavations. A place of worship dating back to the 5th century, designed to house the burials of the first bishops, including Grato, Gallo and Agnello, it is a magical place steeped in history that will not fail to fascinate archaeology enthusiasts as well as the merely curious.

It will be a trip that will surprise you!

Entrance fees

The combined ticket includes entrance to MAR, the Cryptoporticus and the Paleochristian Basilica of San Lorenzo.

5ę, €3 from 19 to 25 years old, free from 0 to 18 years old; ticket for the Romanesque Cloister of Sant'Orso - €1 with Ottonian frescoes and the Priory - €5.

Daily from 10am to 5pm.