Rest Day Courmayeur

Today is a rest day. We had a leisurely start to the day, no need to pack our main luggage and have it downstairs ready to be moved to our next hotel. We are actually here, Courmayeur, for three nights. We enjoyed a leisurely buffet breakfast. 

Time to explore a local town called Aosta, a 35km bus trip away. The views from the bus do not fail to impress. We see vineyards on extremely steep hills, old castles/forts as we follow the fast flowing turquoise river beside us.

In Aosta, we are met by our local town guide, Felicity.  Felicity has a great passion for her city and this comes through as she shares just some of its amazing history. 

Aosta sits at a juncture of ancient roads that connected Switzerland and France with Rome.  Aosta was a planned Roman city with an intent to create a ‘first impression’ of Rome’s power and wealth.  However, as the Roman Empire declined, Aosta adapted.  So today’s Aosta, has elements of Roman ruins, with medieval structures built upon Roman foundations. 

The ‘modern’ Aosta (ie changes within the last 500 years) is an interesting blend of a city still in evolution adaptation. Fortunately, in the mid 1800s, the Roman heritage began to be preserved.  Aosta has approx 30,000 residents but this swells significantly in the summer season as many people come to enjoy the mountains.  The residents of Aosta are largely bilingual (Italian and French) due to their history and relationship with France.  The bilingualism is taught in schools.


The very planned layout of Roman Aosta

The remnants of the East Gate.  


The main square of Aosta.

Lunch today was at a local restaurant.  When in Italy, we just had to try a pizza. The pizza was very good… the service at the restaurant was not as good.  To close out our time in Aosta we had a stroll around the streets and shops.  The temperature was 35degrees, so that called for another Italian treat… Gelati!!  Very, very nice on a warm day.

 At the end of the day (literally), we enjoyed our visit and what we learned about this ancient city.


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