Heritage: Aosta

The boundary wall of Augusta Praetoria formed a rectangle measuring 727m by 574 and was built from an interior layer of river stones and an external layer of blocks of travertine.
Sections in which it is still clearly visible: via Hotel des Monnaies, via Carducci, via Carrel (near the bus station), via Monte Solarolo, via Abbé Chanoux. In via Festaz, especially at the junction with via Vevey, you can see the open gaps in the walls for the passage of modern city streets.

Situated in via Chabloz, inside the middle school of Piazza San Francesco, to the north of the Town Hall.
The building dates back to the 1st century A.D.
Some heated rooms have been identified, while the “frigidarium” has not been located.

The site is not open to visitors.

There were two towers for each doorway, four corners plus another eight: twenty in total. Given their number, their strong protrusion towards the exterior and the emphasis given by the double series of arched windows positioned on all four sides, we must bear in mind that their function was also to act as a decorative element: in fact, the boundary wall had not been built with a merely defensive intention, but also with the desire to create a monumental boundary to the urban area. In the centuries following the fall of the Roman empire, Aosta encountered a phase of abandonment and serious decline, during the course of the Middle Ages, the inhabitants gradually returned, houses were built along the main roads and the noble people erected their homes and castles along the old walls. Many bastions were adapted as feudal residences, and some towers were raised and transformed, using the exterior facing of the walls, the majority of which was taken away.
The only towers which have partially preserved their original appearance are those of the Leper and the Pailleron , the latter restored by Alfredo D’Andrade in 1894.

The craftsmen of the Aosta valley traditionally used the term “l’Artisanà” to refer to the shop in the centre of Aosta where the products displayed during the Sant’Orso Craft Fair were taken for sale once the fair was over. Thus, the Institut Valdôtain de l’Artisanat de Tradition has decided to make this name its communication brand, combining the cultural and commercial sectors of its activity.
Today there are four Artisanà boutiques spread all over the region, providing an original showcase for a living, evolving craft industry rooted in tradition.
The boutiques de L’Artisanà offer tourists and aficionados the chance to take home an authentic piece of the Aosta Valley: objects crafted in wood, earthenware and wrought iron, as well as textiles and ceramics, testifying to the traditions of our region that stretch back thousands of years.

The boutique in Aosta

A pioneer in the exhibition and sale of traditional Valle d’Aosta craftsmanship, the Aosta boutique opened its doors on 1st January 1942. Located in the same place then, under the arcades of Piazza Chanoux on the ground floor of the Aosta town hall, the it is known to insiders and countless visitors as L’Artisanà. It is here that now as then, enthusiasts can find the best of local savoir faire.
In December 2017 the boutique was renovated to make the environment even more welcoming.

Opening times are subject to variations: we advice to verify them before the visit (see the “Contacts” area) or by clicking here

The Balivi tower (or Tour du Baillage), situated in Via Guido Rey, on the north-western corner of the Roman boundary wall, was built in the Middle Ages on the structures of the pre-existing Roman tower.
In 1263 Guglielmo De Palatio sold the tower to the Count of Savoy, who turned it into the residence of the Balivi, the city’s administrators.
In 1537 the Administrators were transferred to a more suitable building and tower was refurbished and converted into law courts.
From 1702 it became a prison, which was only abandoned in recent times.

At present the building is seat of the school music Conservatoire de la Vallée d’Aoste.

Bramafam Tower stands at the corner of Via Bramafam and Viale G. Carducci, along the southern side of the Roman walls.
Its official name is Bramafam Castle, but it is commonly referred to as the Tower. It has a circular rampart, with the Roman walls still visible at its base, and part of the tower which flanked Porta Principalis Dextera, on which it was constructed in around the 12-13th centuries.
It belonged to the family of the Viscounts of Aosta, who controlled the entire south-western side of the walls. After receiving the fiefdom of the Challant valley in 1295, they also took its name and became the most important noble family in Val d’Aosta. The fortified house that was their seat, was later moved to the Count of Savoy. Over the subsequent centuries it underwent various other property changes, and lost its representative and administrative importance.
It was apparently abandoned in the 16th century.

To explain the origin of the tower’s name, which is still unknown, a legend says that, out of jealousy, the wife of one of the Challants was imprisoned there and left to die of hunger.

Not open to visitors

Situated north of Porta Praetoria, in the archaeological area of the Roman theatre and surrounded by original mediaeval houses, it gets its name from the noble De Casei family (later gallicized to Fromage) which occupied it in the middle ages.
First cited in a document from 1191, the tower changed hands to the noble Vaudan family in the fifteenth century, after the marriage of Claude Vaudan to Jeannette du Fromage, the last descendant of that line.
The tower, with square plan and not very high, one side supported by the city walls, and the other one by a wall supporting the agger, it preserves its original configuration.

Not open to visitors.

Built at the beginning of the 20th century in an eclectic style and situated on the Beauregard hill to the north-east of Aosta, the castle is the headquarters of the Alpine Military School of Aosta.
It is also known as the “Duca degli Abruzzi Castle” or “Generale Cantore Castle”.
The garden has a natural rock climbing wall, and its premises contain a small museum.

Ancient Roman fortified house, Leper’s Tower was transformed into a feudal residence by the noble Friour family, which appears in records since 1191.
In the 15th century the tower stair was built on the northern side to allow easier access to the floors, and stone windows were opened on the south side. After several changes of owners, it was purchased by the Order of Saint Maurice, which took in a family of lepers originally from the town of Oneglia. The story of their stay in the tower inspired the Savoy writer Xavier de Maistre to write his well-known novel Le lépreux de la cité d’Aoste.

Not open to visitors.

This castle stands in the western area of Aosta, in Via Piccolo San Bernardo.
It is octagonal and was built towards the end of the 18th century from the Barillier family, from whom it was then given to Baron Bich, who kept it until 1880. It was later used by the canons of Gran San Bernardo for the regional agriculture school.