Aosta Valley (Valle d'Aosta in Italian, Vallée d'Aoste in French, Val d'Outa in Franco-Provençal) is
a 126 thousand people autonomous region in the western part of Italy by the border with France and Switzerland. It's surrounded by the region of Piedmont in Italy and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France.
The population has a mostly Catholic
Christian tradition. The
official languages are Italian and French
(although many people speak the local dialect of Franco-Provençal) and in touristic places, English and German are widely spoken.
The main and capital city of Saarland is Aosta, with other important cities like Sarre or Châtillon.
How do I arrive to Aosta Valley?
Aosta Valley can be reached in many ways, both from Italy and the neightbouring countries (France and Switzerland). The main place to reach Aosta Valley is Aosta.
- Plane: Aosta Valley has a small private airport but the main airports are located in Turin and in Milan.
- Train:
there are trains from Aosta to all over Aosta Valley, sites like Châtillon-Saint Vicent
(aprox. 20 minutes) or Pont-Saint-Martin (aprox. 45 minutes). Aosta is also connected with other Italian cities like Ivrea (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes), Chivasso (aprox. 1 hour 30 minutes), Turin (aprox. 2 hours), Novara (aprox. 2 hours 25 minutes) or Milan (aprox. 3 hours).
- Bus: there are buses from Aosta to other Valdostan towns such as Courmayeur (aprox. 1 hour) and other Italian cities like Turin (aprox. 2 hours) or Milan
(aprox. 3 hours 20 minutes). Some international destinations are also available like Chamonix in France from Aosta and Courmayeur or Martigny in Switzerland departing from Aosta.
- Car:
if you rented a car in Aosta you can reach from there other
places in Aosta Valley like Sarre and Saint-Pierre (aprox. 10 minutes), Fénis (aprox. 20 minutes), Châtillon (aprox. 25 minutes), Courmayeur and Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses (aprox. 30 minutes), Cogne in Gran Paradiso National Park (aprox. 35 minutes), Pont-Saint-Martin (aporx. 40 minutes), Bard (aprox. 45 minutes) or Valtournenche (aprox. 50 minutes). It can also be reached from other Italian
cities like Ivrea (aprox. 1 hour), Biella (aprox. 1 hour 20
minutes), Turin (aprox. 1 hour 30 minutes), Novara (aprox.
1 hour 45 minutes) or Frankfurt am Main (aprox. 2 hours 15 minutes); French cities like Chamoix-Mont-Blanc (aprox. 1 hour), Cluses (aprox. 1 hour 20 minutes) and Annecy (aprox. 2 hours) and or even from Switzerland, like Martigny (aprox. 1 hour 20 minutes) or Sion (aprox. 1 hour 40 minutes).
History
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Megalithic area of
Saint-Martin-de-Corléans
|
The first human settlements, found in the Saint-Pierre area, date back to the 4th millennium BC. The megalithic area of Saint-Martin-de-Corléans in Aosta and the Cromlech of the Piccolo San Bernardo are two other important prehistoric archaeological sites in the region. The first inhabitants of the Aosta Valley were Celts and Ligures, whose language heritage remains in some local placenames. Rome conquered the region from the local Salassi around 25 BC, founding Augusta Prætoria Salassorum (today's Aosta) to secure the strategic mountain passes. With the advent of Christianity at the end of the 4th century, Aosta became a bishopric belonging first to the archdiocese of Vercelli and then to the metropolitan church of Milan, up to the 8th century.
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Remains of Augusta
Prætoria Salassorum, Aosta
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Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Valle d'Aosta was initially under the dominion of Odoacer and then became part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom under king Theodoric. Following the Gothic war, the Aosta Valley was finally conquered by the troops of Alboino in 568, becoming part of the Lombard Kingdom. The Merovingian Gontrano, king of the Franks of Orleans, defeated the Longobards and annexed Aosta and Susa in 575. Following the conquest of the Lombard kingdom by Charlemagne in 774, Aosta and Susa followed the fate of the kingdom of Italy. By the will of Otto I of Saxony, in 972 Aosta was assigned to his brother-in-law Corrado III of Burgundy and remained part of the kingdom of Burgundy until 1032 (with Franco-Provençal dialects being spread and developed in Val d'Aosta in the long run).
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Kingdom of Savoy-Piedmont-Sardinia
in the early 18th century
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From 1032 the Savoy family under Humbert I of Savoy came into possession of the Aosta Valley, subsequently incorporating it into the Duchy of Savoy and then into the Kingdom of Sardinia, maintaining its control uninterruptedly, except for brief periods of French control. The first French invasion dates back to 1691 by Louis XIV (but the valley remained under the control of the Savoy), the second French invasion took place in 1704 (during the War of the Spanish Succession) and lasted until 1706 with the Savoy victory in the battle of Turin; and the third invasion took place by Napoleon. Following the battle of Marengo in 1800, the Valley was annexed to France and then incorporated into the first French Empire, where it formed the Arrondissement d'Aoste, part of the Département de la Doire. Following the definitive defeat of Napoleon, the Aosta Valley returned to the Savoy dominion in 1814. On March 24, 1860, the Treaty of Turin ceded the county of Nice and the Duchy of Savoy to France, while the Aosta Valley remained in the Kingdom of Sardinia (the only area of Franco-Provençal language and Francophone culture in the unborn Italian unitary state).  |
| Émile Chanoux |
On 17 March 1861 the unification of Italy was proclaimed.The Valle d'Aosta took part in the First World War and hundreds of refugees from Trento and Trieste were welcomed into the valley. On December 30, 1920 the first Fascio of fighting was constituted in Aosta and following the coming to power of Benito Mussolini, the Italianization policy was initiated and massive industrialization was promoted. Thanks to immigration from the rest of Italy, more than 50% of the resident population in Valle d'Aosta were born outside the valley. In 1937 the revision of the town toponymy in Aosta began.The declaration of war on France on 10 June 1940 was received by the people of the Aosta Valley with little enthusiasm. A few days after the armistice of 1943 it was organized an armed resistance leaded by Émile Chanoux against the Italian Social Republic.  |
Mother tongues in Aosta Valley
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French forces briefly controlled the area at the end of World War II (with support of part of the Aosta Valley Resistence), but withdrew under British and American pressure and was returned by the allied military government to the administration of the Italian government. The region gained special autonomous status in 1948 and in 1981 it was passed a new financial system for the Aosta Valley, gaining more resources from the taxes collected by the state in the valley. Since the region gained autonomy, its presidents have mostly been from the centrist and regionalist party Valdostan Union (UV).
What can I visit in Aosta Valley?
These
are plenty of many things to do in Aosta Valley despite its sizeThe most interesting city
is clearly Aosta. There's a discount card, Aosta Valley Card (33€/ 15€ family/ single), that includes discounts for most of the attractions and ski resorts and schools in Aosta Valley during a year.
23:06
Banknotemaniac
Aosta Valley (Valle d'Aosta in Italian, Vallée d'Aoste in French, Val d'Outa in Franco-Provençal) is
a 126 thousand people autonomous region in the western part of Italy by the border with France and Switzerland. It's surrounded by the region of Piedmont in Italy and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France.
The population has a mostly Catholic
Christian tradition. The
official languages are Italian and French
(although many people speak the local dialect of Franco-Provençal) and in touristic places, English and German are widely spoken.
The main and capital city of Saarland is Aosta, with other important cities like Sarre or Châtillon.
