L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano V alle d'Aosta, t h e s m a l l e s t region of Italy, is tucked away a t t h e n o r t h - western corner of Piedmont. A b e a u t i f u l A l p i n e h e a r t , filled to the brim with tradi- tions, history, and natural b e a u t y . P o p u l a r a m o n g trekkers and skiers, it is one of the regions – the others are Sardinia, Sicily, Friuli- Venezia Giulia, and Trentino A l t o - A d i g e - t o e n j o y a Statuto Speciale, which entitles it to more autonomy when it comes to the man- a g e m e n t o f p u b l i c f u n d s , schools, and infrastructures. T h e r e a s o n f o r V a l l e d'Aosta's special status lies in its physical conformation – i t s t e r r i t o r y i s 1 0 0 % mountainous – and in its b i l i n g u a l i s m : j u s t l i k e Trentino Alto-Adige speaks both Italian and German, V a l l e d ' A o s t a s p e a k s both Italian and French. The roots of bilingualism in the region are old: in fact, Valle d'Aosta was the first a d m i n i s t r a t i o n t o a d o p t French as its official lan- guage in 1536, even before France. French was the lan- guage of the élite and began r i s i n g i n i m p o r t a n c e a n d status already in the 15th century, but it was widely spoken already in the area two centuries earlier. When, in 1561, Emanuele Filib- e r t o d i S a v o i a m a d e French the official adminis- t r a t i v e l a n g u a g e o f t h e region, to be used in all doc- uments instead of Latin, it was already commonly spo- ken. Schools in Valle d'Aosta would teach French and the language was granted offi- cial status along with Italian in the Statuto Albertino of 1848, the first constitu- t i o n a l d o c u m e n t o f t h e peninsula, promulgated by C a r l o A l b e r t o , K i n g o f the Regno di Sardegna. With the Unification in 1 8 6 1 , I t a l i a n b e c a m e t h e only official language, but French kept being spoken; things were to change with F a s c i s m , w h i c h b a n n e d French completely. In 1948, after the end of the war, the Italian Republic bestowed the Statuto Speciale to the region, with French return- ing to be an official language along with Italian. V a l l e d ' A o s t a ' s F r e n c h c o n n e c t i o n i s p r e t t y w e l l known, though, if only for the fact that, when you visit, you see road signs in both Italian and French. What many may not be familiar with is that this small cor- n e r o f A l p i n e b e a u t y i s a treasure chest of ancient R o m a n a r c h i t e c t u r e a n d history, its capital Aosta in particular. T h e n a m e i t s e l f o f t h e town, which today counts a b o u t 3 5 , 0 0 0 r e s i d e n t s , c o m e s f r o m t h e L a t i n Augusta Praetoria. It was founded in 25 BC, after the R o m a n c o n q u e s t o f t h e region, which belonged to the Salasses, a Celtic tribe that inhabited the Dora Bal- tea valley and its surround- ing areas. After the conquest of Gaul, the region became of strategic importance for the Romans, who wanted to facilitate communication and create new commercial routes in that direction, as well as with central Europe. A o s t a , j u s t l i k e i t s l a r g e r neighbor Turin - which is a b o u t 7 0 m i l e s s o u t h - developed upon a castrum, a R o m a n m i l i t a r y s e t t l e - ment, and around two main s t r e e t s , t h e C a r d o M a x - imus and the Decumanus Maximus. Surrounded by imposing w a l l s , a c c e s s t o a n c i e n t A u g u s t a P r a e t o r i a w a s g r a n t e d b y f o u r m a j e s t i c gates, the Porta Principalis S i n i s t r a t o t h e n o r t h , the Porta Principalis Dex- tera to the South, the Porta Praetoria to the east, and the Porta Decumana to the w e s t . T o c o m p l e t e t h i s d e f e n s i v e s t r u c t u r e w e r e t w e n t y t o w e r s , b u i l t a l l a l o n g t h e w a l l s . W i t h i n them, the town flourished and developed the way all Roman towns did: around a forum, and embellished by a theater, an amphitheater, a n d b a t h s . T e m p l e s a n d stores were built, too, with m o s t h o m e s f o u n d i n t h e southern part of town. If you w e r e w e a l t h y , t h e n y o u ' d have a villa built in its leafy, quiet outskirts. And as you would expect, just outside the Porta Praetoria, an arch d e d i c a t e d t o E m p e r o r Augustus would welcome visitors. But what can we still see, t o d a y , o f A o s t a ' s g l o r i o u s Roman past? Quite a lot, to the point the town is known as piccola Roma delle Alpi, the Alps' little Rome. The bridge built by the Romans on the Buthi- er river, which was part of t h e a n c i e n t V i a Publica, or Strada delle Gal- lie to say it in Italian, is still standing today and so is the arch dedicated to Augustus, still welcoming people into town. Part of the forum is still visible today: its cryp- toporticus once surround- ed its whole sacred area and had the peculiarity of being hidden underground. If you t a k e a w a l k a l o n g t h e perimeter of the city's his- toric center, you can still see parts of Aosta's majestic walls, but the most fasci- nating, breathtaking piece of Roman architecture you'll find is certainly the the- a t r e : i t s 2 2 m e t e r s h i g h façade still stands and parts of the cavea, pit and stage are still there to be seen. Not far, there was also an a m p h i t h e a t e r , w h i c h i s today part of a convent. The tiniest region of Italy, Valle d'Aosta has plenty of beauty and culture to offer: from the Alps to medieval c a s t l e s s u r r o u n d e d b y m o u n t a i n s , f r o m i t s r i c h h e r i t a g e t o i t s d e l i c i o u s heart-warming food, all the way to Roman archaeology a n d a r c h i t e c t u r e . I t i s a region you can visit every s e a s o n , c e r t a i n t o f i n d something interesting to do and beautiful to see. CHIARA D'ALESSIO Valle d'Aosta is also known for its medieval castles, like the Bard fortress (Photo: Freesurf69/Dreamstime) Valle d'Aosta: Italy's French region has an ancient Roman heart ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES

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