The best traffic-free bike rides around Introd

currently the railway line is interrupted but we managed to leave from Chatillon by bus loading the bikes towards Aosta, then take the cycle path along the Dora Baltea mostly downhill. we found some interrupted sections with diversions

The regional capital is located in the middle of the valley of the same name. The city still has the layout of the old Roman castrum, and in the car-free centre several monuments recall the Roman period. Aosta was a lively religious centre in the Middle Ages. St. Anselm, the later Archbishop of Canterbury who died in 1109, was born here. Today Aosta is a busy tourist hub at the crossroads of the roads to the Great St. Bernard Pass and Switzerland.

Piazza Émile Chanoux is the central square of Aosta, located in the Valle d’Aosta region of Italy. Named after the notary and resistance leader Émile Chanoux, the square is a rectangular square with its long sides facing north and south. The square is surrounded by elegant buildings, including the neoclassical Town Hall (Hôtel de Ville), which is richly decorated with frescoes and marquetry. In front of the Town Hall is a monument to the Soldier of the Aosta Valley, made by Pietro Canonica in 1924. The square serves as a meeting place and venue for festivals and markets, and is also home to the Hôtel des États, an important 18th-century building now used for temporary exhibitions.

The Arco di Augusto was built in 25 BC in honour of Emperor Augustus after the Roman victory over the Salassi. This impressive arch marks the northern entrance to the city and is located in line with the decumanus maximus. It is made of conglomerate blocks and has a single arch with a height of 11.40 metres. The ten half-columns on the facades and sides are decorated with Corinthian capitals. The Doric frieze, with metopes and triglyphs, adds a classical touch. In the Middle Ages it was known as Saint-Voût because of an image of the Redeemer that was placed there. During the 12th century it served as a residence for a local noble family and later as a fortress for the balestrieri. In 1716 the roof was replaced with slate due to water damage. The current appearance is the result of restoration work in 1912. Under the arch is a wooden cross, a copy of the original placed in 1449 as a votive offering against flooding from the Buthier River.

One of the most characteristic monuments of Aosta that tells of its Roman origins: built in 25 BC. by Aulo Terenzio Varrone Murena, not far from the eastern entrance of the walls.

The Porta Pretoria was one of the four gateways to Roman Aosta. These gates were used to collect tolls on traders entering the city. The gate was built with puddinga, but during the second half of the 1st century AD it underwent a restyling with the addition of green bardiglio marble from the Aymavilles quarries and white Carrara marble. In the Middle Ages, one of the towers was inhabited by the powerful Port Sancti Ursi family, who collected toll booths from anyone who passed through. They also built a chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity, which was unfortunately destroyed during later restoration work in the Fascist period. Today, the Porta Pretoria still forms the entrance to the historic center of Aosta and is one of the city's most important monuments

On July 26, 2022, the inauguration ceremony of the bronze statue of Emperor Augustus, the founder of the ancient Roman city of Augusta Prætoria Salassorum, took place on the Place de l'Arc d'Auguste d'Aoste. Created by sculptor Gabriele Garbolino Ru and donated by the Council of the Valley. Source: https://www.valledaostaglocal.it/2022/07/22/leggi-notizia/argomenti/eventi-e-appuntamenti/articolo/inauguration-de-la-statue-dauguste-et-de-lexposition-identite.html

In the middle of the Croix de Ville, a cross was erected over the fountain in the 16th century to commemorate the expulsion of the Protestants from Aosta. Source: Office du Tourisme Aosta city map