Heritage: Aosta

Having crossed the bridge over the Buthier River, along the road that used to lead to the monumental Porta Praetoria, the main access road to the Roman city, the honorary arch dedicated to the emperor Augustus was erected.
It used to be an eloquent sign of the presence and power of Rome, which had definitively defeated the Salassi during the year 25 B.C. and founded the new colony.
The arch, which is characterised by its severe stateliness, typical of the architecture of the late Republican era, is a single round arch, measuring 8.29 metres in width, like the road that crosses it. The pillars at its sides have half-columns at the four corners on attic bases surmounted by Corinthian capitals, the same that divide up the facades and the sides. These surfaces were originally interrupted by reliefs which most likely had monumental representations located in the four alcoves of the facade. A Doric trabeation with tryglyphs and metope closes what remains of the monument in the upper section, for centuries it has been stripped of the attic on which the commemorative inscription was written in bronze lettering. During the Middle Ages, the arch was called “Saint-Vout” given the presence of an image of the Saviour which was positioned on it and then later replaced with the Crucifix. In 1716 the Conseil des Commis decided to preserve the monument from the infiltration of water by covering it with a slate roof. The Arch was definitively restored between 1912-1913, an excavation nearby, dating back to the early years of the 1900’s, brought to light two large letters in gilded bronze, which most likely formed part of the dedicatory inscription.

The Villa is closed - it reopens in the autumn.

These are the foundations of an elegant Roman residence outside of the city walls, some of the rooms are still recognisable, with the remains of the mosaic flooring and the traces of a heating system.
The archeological digs in the suburban villa in the Consolata region were followed in 1971 by construction works, bringing to light the majority of the ancient structures that are currently visible, further digs, during the mid 80’s, extended our knowledge of the central part of the complex - the tetrastyle atrium with impluvium, tablinum -.

Situated in an area known for its significant traces of population prior to the foundation of Augusta Praetoria (25 B.C.), near a sub-hilly branch of the ancient road network towards Alpis Poenina - Gran S. Bernardo -, the villa is rectangular in shape, compact and with a predominance of residential style areas (pars urbana), reserved for the dominus and his guests, with respect to the service areas, the deposit areas and possibly, areas for processing agricultural products (pars rustica and fructuaria): the limited presence of these indicates a link with activities carried out in a fundus (land, estate).

Site included in the Aosta archeologica cumulative ticket

This monument, which dates back to the Augustan era, is the subject of much debate; its main purpose was to create a structure for containing and levelling the ground that must have been slightly sloping from north to south in that part of the town, creating a difference of level between the holy area and the adjacent forensic plateau. Beside this secure structural function, the hypothesis was later put forward that the semi-buried part could have been used as a warehouse and military storage area (horreum). However, following the latest research, it emerges that this use should radically be excluded due to the structural aspect of the monument, its particular location or as a result of a comparison with other similar examples. The marble colonnade (porticus triplex) that stood over it (now destroyed, and of which no archaeological evidence remains in situ) acted as a scenic frame for the two original twin temples of the holy terrace.

Here we find ourselves in the northern part of the Roman Forum complex, right in front of the Cathedral entrance, corresponding to a raised holy area, which was in turn separated from the one used for civil and trade purposes (piazza Severino Caveri), thanks a small decuman passage, which roughly corresponds to the current Via Mons. De Sales.

In technical and mapping terms, the Aosta cryptoporticus is divided into three parts with a horseshoe layout and internally split into two barrel vaults with a central sequence of lowered arches. The length of the two sides is 71.80 m, while the central section extends further, with an internal length of 87.10 m.

Originally, two monumental passages would have opened onto ends of the side wings with openings onto the sides of the central staircase.
The galleries are lit by a series of splayed windows that allow an adequate air flow; over the course of the year, the internal temperature of the cryptoporticus remains constant.

When compared with all these cases, old and new, Italic and rural, which archaeological research has always defined as examples of the public and specifically forensic cryptoporticus, the Aosta example could also be interpreted as a noble structure, linked to the imperial cult and the self-celebration of local nobility, religious bodies or professional citizens.
It is therefore fair to suppose that the cryptoporticus can be interpreted as areas with a specific political-liturgical function: a sort of midpoint connecting the holy (the holy area and the relative temple buildings) and the profane (the public square).

As some medieval maps appear to document, the Cryptoporticus structures were still used in the following centuries, when they were transformed into cellars and became widely referred to as the “Marché des Romains”.

Notice: temporarily closed for works

This important necropolis from Roman times was found 200 metres west of Porta Decumana, along the road leading to the Alpis Graia (Little Saint Bernard Pass). It is a discovery similar to that of other necropolises near Porta Praetoria and Porta Principalis Sinistra , all gateways to Augusta Praetoria (Aosta).
The site was used for a long period of time, up to around the end of the first millennium, when the building was gradually abandoned. Thus, the necropolis was used both during the Roman Age and the Early Christian period, and it was fairly normal to have Pagan and Christian graves side by side. Also the religious rites of the deceased were very similar.
The necropolis hosts three mausoleums with rectangular halls, known as the cellae memoriae , and an Early Christian basilica , which dates from the end of the IV century to the entire V century. The basilica shows a strong resemblance to similar Christian buildings located on Roman necropolises situated outside the town walls, such as the Church of San Lorenzo and the Church of Santo Stefano.

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The Decumanus Maximus (what are now the Porta Pretoria, De Tillier and Aubert roads) linked the Porta Praetoria to the western exit of the Roman city: the Porta Decumana. From here the road that led to the Alpis Graia (hill of the Piccolo San Bernardo) commenced. With a double curtain and three passages flanked by towers, this doorway was re-adapted and remained in use throughout the middle ages and the modern age. It was known by the name Porta Friour, del Plot, di Saint-Genis, di Savoie and di Boczana, but the more frequent name was Vaudane (from Vaudagna = Valdigne).

The doorway lasted until 1812, the year in which it was demolished on the orders of the prefect of the Dora Department, in view of the restoration of the district and the widening of the road. The results of a series of excavation campaigns carried out in this area between 1988 and 1991, in compliance with the restoration of the former Hospice of Charity for the creation of the new Regional Library, allowed for the original physiognomy of the doorway to be outlined.

A considerable portion of the tower situated on the northern side of what is now Via Aubert still remains, the southern one, on the other hand, has been almost completely demolished down to the foundations. The digs brought a section of the paving of the decumanus maximus and part of a drain back to the surface.

The site cannot be visited at present.

This monument is situated between via Sant’Anselmo and via Porta Praetoria.

Situated on the eastern section of the walls, it provided the main access to the city of Augusta Praetoria, built in 25 B.C. after the defeat of the Salassians by Terenzio Varrone.

It had three openings, which are still visible today: the central one for carriages and the side openings for pedestrians. The area inside the openings was used as a troop parade court, in its southern section, the land was dug up as far as the level of the ground during the Roman era (approximately two metres below the current level - the difference in height is due to the debris transported by river floods). On the outer facing openings you can still see the grooves from where the gates were lowered at night.

The eastern facade still has some of the marble slabs that once covered the entire monument, on the inside it consists of blocks of puddingstone.

In the Middle Ages, on the top of the monument in correspondence with the ancient patrol walkway, a chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity was built, from which the Porta Praetoria itself also took its name for several centuries. Following the demolition of the chapel in 1926, an ancient oratory against the eastern side of the door was restored (now only a niche remains).

The Porta Principalis Dextera was located at the southern curtain of the walls and allowed for access to the countryside and the bridge over the Dora, situated in the hamlet of Clerod in Gressan. It had a single carriageable fornix, without a troop parade court and was supported by two towers. The excavations thanks to which it was discovered got underway in the nineteenth century with D’Andrade, while the complete arrangement and repair of the entire surrounding area date back to 1936.

Amidst the Roman material that was re-used during the middle ages to close the lower part of the door, in 1894, the sandstone base of a statue of Augustus was found, it had been erected by the Salassians in 23 B.C., bearing the commemorative inscription: “Salassi incolae qui inizio se in colonia contulerunt”. In the surrounding area there are also the remains of a popular and commercial area dating back to the 2nd century A.D. (the area of the children’s garden).

During the Middle Ages, the doorway took the name Beatrix, the viscounts of Aosta, who controlled the entire south-western perimeter of the walls, built their fortress on the ruins of one of the Roman towers that flanked it. This complex, which was called Bramafam castle, has a circular shaped bastion, at the base of which the Roman walls on which it was erected are still visible.

From the Porta Principalis Sinistra the itinerary that once led to the Gran San Bernardo Pass commenced (Summus Poeninus). Up until 1843, the remains of this building were still visible in the northern part of Roncas square; Palazzo Rolle, a building dating back to the 30’s, situated at the side of Palazzo Roncas, occupies the area of one of the towers (the western one) that flanked the Roman doorway.

The eastern tower, on the other hand, called “de la porte” during the middle ages, became the nucleus around which a feudal dwelling place rose up, the ancient bastion was demolished during the course of the 17th century, by which time it had become part of the Visitation convent. Its appearance is recognisable in a late-seventeenth century view of Aosta, while its presence is still certified in the map by De Tillier dated 1730.

In the basement area of the Regional Archaeological Museum (ex Visitation convent) you can observe the remains of the south-eastern edge of this tower, with the Roman use levels and the only section of embankment, with the relative counterscarp, still resting on a section of the roman walls.

Coming from the Lower Valley, the first ancient monument in Aosta to welcome visitors is the Roman bridge that sits above the ancient course of the Buthier River. It characterises the eastern quarter of the city, called Pont de Pierre, that is, “bridge of stone”. Parallel to Corso Ivrea, a short distance from the Arch of Augustus, the bridge is perfectly preserved and is still used as a thoroughfare today, although the Buthier River changed its course during the Middle Ages and the waters no longer flow under the single humpback arch with its 17.16 m span. Approximately 6 m wide, it was built during the Augustan age with blocks of stone, in compliance with the customary Roman models of the time.

The  Roman Theater will close from November 7, 2023 to May 2025

The southern facade 22 metres high with its overlapping arches, the lower part of the semi-circle of steps that housed the spectators (cavea) and the foundations of the wall that acted as a backdrop (scaena) are still well visible. Some scholars have supposed that the theatre was covered by a stable roof. During the Middle Ages numerous constructions were loan against the theater’s walls, but were then demolished during the modern repair and restoration works.