Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta

Once the spiritual centre of the region and its treasure "chest"

When is it open: see the "for further information" section at the bottom of the page

What's not to be missed: all its artistic treasures

Where is it: Piazza Giovanni XXIII (the Cathedral)

Why? … Because its worth it: it is a real, sacred museum of European importance

Archaeological excavations have enabled the reconstruction of different construction phases of the building of the church, whose origins date back to the mid IV century. It was a huge building, substantially unchanged up to the Romanesque era (XI century), which gave the church its current appearance. The main baptistery, connected to the Roman criptoportico, and various other annexes, including the secondary baptistery, date to the IV century. The frescoes on the church ceiling date back to the Romanesque period: together with those of Sant'Orso, making Aosta one of the main centres of

Ottonian art in Europe. Between the XV and XVI century the bishops encouraged the radical renovation of the church. The high choir, dominated by a wooden crucifix (XIV century), presents two tiers of sculptured seating; the floor has two, visible mosaics from the XII and XIV century, which represent the months of the year, a series of animals and the Tigris and Euphrates. The high altar is in Baroque style. In 1985 the Treasury Museum was opened offering a significant panorama of local art (XIII-XVIII centuries). Two clips present the most ancient and precious pieces: an agate cameo (I century, later mounted on gold)

and an ivory diptych (406 A.D.). The facade of the cathedral is composed of two distinct parts: an atrium from the sixteenth century and a Neo-Classic front section from 1848. The atrium is an elegant, architectural design in terracotta, decorated with statues and frescoes depicting the life of the Virgin Mary. Recent renovation has allowed us to appreciate all the eloquence of the shapes and colours of this beautiful example of Renaissance art.