lying on a plain surronded by dramatic mountains, the town of aosta provides a remarkable mixture of ancient culture and spectacular, rich scenery.
the romans captured it from salassian gauls in around 25bc, and aosta is still dotted with fine roman architecture built in honour of emperor augustus, indeed the town was once called augusta praetoria, and its name only evolved into aosta over the centuries.
the medieval town was later fortified by the challant family and then by the dukes of aosta, who added towers to the old roman walls.
modern aosta is a bustling place with rambling suburbs, a crossroad for local industries and tourists on their way to the mountains.
the centre, however still consists of a delightful grid of large squares and surprising architectural treasures, which justify aosta's nickname of "rome of the alps".

sights at a glance:
roman ruins;
duomo;
sant'orso;
castello di fenis;
castello di issogne.