Εύκολες πεζοπορίες και περίπατοι στην Κοιλάδα της Αόστα

end of the valley's asphalt road

A relaxing walk through pastures and woods; from the convenient roadside parking lot, you reach the small village of Petosan, from where an easy trail begins through a charming forest. Unfortunately, our walk was interrupted by a ⛈️ after a couple of kilometers.

The beautiful Petosan basin is dazzlingly green in summer. The silence of the basin allows for pleasant walks while admiring the Grandes Jorasses chain and breathing in the pure air. Here you can breathe the mountain!

The Prince Thomas trenches still represent today the most visible element of the defensive system that develops between the Colle del Piccolo San Bernardo, La Thuile and the area above the town that leads to Colle San Carlo. An imposing central system of bastions with trenches and curtains for rifle fire that blocked the road network along the Dora di La Thuile, completely blocked access to the Petosan basin.

indication

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 patronage "SANTA MARIA ASSUNTA" (in German: "Assumption of Mary") of this cathedral (bishop's church) refers to one of the many memorial days or feast days in honor of the Mother of God Mary. It goes back to the feast of her bodily assumption into heaven, which the (Catholic) Church celebrates annually on August 15th. In the Christian Orthodox churches, the feast is called "Dormition of Mary". In many rural areas it used to be customary for the population to collect bundles of herbs on this special day and to bless them during the festive service; this custom is still practiced occasionally.