Difference between revisions of "Val d'Aosta"

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{{Infobox_RegionIT |
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#redirect [[Aosta Valley]]
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  name              = Valle d'Aosta<br />Val d'Aoste |
 
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  fullname          = Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta<br />Région Autonome Vallée d'Aoste |
 
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  isocode          = 007 |
 
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  capital          = [[Aosta|Aosta-Aoste]] |
 
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  governor          = Luciano Caveri<br />(''[[Valdotanian_Union|Union Valdôtaine]]'')|
 
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  zone              = [[Northwest Italy]] |
 
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  province          = none |
 
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  municipality      = 74 |
 
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  arearank          = 20th |
 
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  area              = 3,263 |
 
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  areapercent      = 1.1 |
 
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  population_as_of  = 2003 est. |
 
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  populationrank    = 20th |
 
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  population        = 120,909 |
 
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  populationpercent = 0.2 |
 
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  populationdensity = 37 |
 
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  coatofarms        = [[Image:Flag of the Aosta Valley.png|200px|Flag of the Aosta Valley]] |
 
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  map              = [[Image:Italy Regions Aosta Valley 220px.png|Location of the Aosta Valley]] |
 
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}}
 
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'''Aosta Valley''' (in French ''Vallée d'Aoste'', in Italian ''Valle d'Aosta'') is a mountainous [[Regions of Italy|region]] in north-western [[Italy]]. It is bordered by [[France]] to the west, [[Switzerland]] to the north and the region of [[Piedmont (Italy)|Piedmont]] to the south. The region has a special autonomous status and forms one of the [[Provinces of Italy]]. The regional [[capital]] is [[Aosta|Aosta-Aoste]].
 
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Aosta Valley is the smallest region in Italy.
 
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The region covers [[1 E9 m²|3,263 km&sup2;]] and has a population of about 113,000, concentrated in the valley bottomlands and partially [[Francophone]]. French is used in the government acts and laws, though the language actually spoken by the biggest part of the population is [[Franco-Provençal language|Franco-Provençal]], a regional language that used to be spoken more generally in [[Savoy]], French-speaking Switzerland, [[Lyon]] area and the [[Jura mountains|Jura]] and was formerly one of the original ''[[patois]]''. The Valle d'Aosta is the region in which the Franco-Provençal language is most in use. In the small town of [[Gressoney]] the population also speaks a [[German language|German]] [[dialect]].
 
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The Valle d'Aosta is an [[Alpine]] valley that with its side valleys includes the Italian slopes of [[Mont Blanc]] and the [[Matterhorn]]; its highest peak is the [[Gran Paradiso]], protected in Gran Paradiso National Park, established in [[1922]]. It is a major centre for [[winter sport]]s, most famously at [[Courmayeur]]. The [[Dora Baltea]] has its origins in the Valle d'Aosta, flowing south to join the [[Po]].
 
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The upper Valle d'Aosta is the traditional southern starting-point for the tracks, then roads, which divided here to lead over the Alpine passes. The road through the [[Great St. Bernard Pass]] (or today the [[Great St. Bernard Tunnel]]) leads to [[Martigny]], [[Valais]], and the one through the [[Little St. Bernard Pass]] to [[Bourg-Saint-Maurice]], [[Savoie]]. Today Aosta is joined to [[Chamonix]] in France by the [[Mont Blanc Tunnel]], a road tunnel on [[European route E25|E25]] running underneath the [[Alps]].
 
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The area was of strategic importance, under the control of many different rulers after the collapse of Roman rule in the [[5th century]], until it passed to the [[house of Savoy]] in the [[11th century]]. Valle d'Aosta was established as an [[autonomous region]] of Italy in [[1948]].
 
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==History==
 
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The first inhabitants of the Valle d'Aosta were [[Celts]] and [[Ligurian language|Ligures]], whose language lingers in some [[Toponymy|local placenames]]. Rome conquered the region from the local [[Salassi]] ''ca.'' 25 BC and founded [[Aosta|Augusta Praetoria (Aosta)]] to secure the strategic mountain passes, which they improved with bridges and roads. After Rome it preserved traditions of autonomy, reinforced by its seasonal isolation, though it was loosely held in turns by the [[Goths]] and the [[Lombards]], then by the [[Burgundians|Burgundian kings]] in the 5th century, followed by the [[Franks]], who overrran the Burgundian kingdom in [[534]]. At the division among the heirs of [[Charlemagne]] in [[870]], the Valle d'Aosta formed part of the [[Lotharingia]]n Kingdom of Italy, in a second partition a decade later, part of the Kingom of Upper Burgundy, which was joined to the [[Arles|Kingdom of Arles]] &mdash; all doubtless without many significant corresponding changes in the personnel of the virtually independent fiefs in the Valle d'Aosta. In 1031/2 [[Humbert I of Savoy|Umberto Biancamano]], the founder of the [[house of Savoy]], received the title ''count of Aosta'' from the Emperor [[Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor|Conrad II]] of the [[Franconia]]n line and built himself a commanding fortification at [[Bard (Aosta Valley)|Bard]]. [[Saint]] [[Anselm of Canterbury]] was born in Aosta in 1033/4. The region was divided among strongly fortified [[castle]]s, and in [[1191]] [[Tomaso di Savoia]] found it necessary to grant to the communes a ''Carta delle Franchigie'' ("Charter of Liberties") that preserved autonomy, rights that were fiercely defended until [[1770]], when they were revoked, to tie Aosta more closely to the [[Piedmont]], but which kept re-surfacing during post-Napoleonic times. Under [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]], a forced programme of "Italianization", including [[population transfer]]s of Valdostans into Piedmont and Italian-speaking workers into Aosta, fostered movements towards [[separatism]]; Aosta was regranted its [[autonomy]] in 1948 [http://www.esteri.it/eng/7_45_109_178.asp].
 
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In the mid-[[13th century]] [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor| Emperor Frederick II]] made the County of Aosta a [[duchy]] (see [[Duke of Aosta]]), and its arms were carried in the Savoia arms until the reunification of Italy, [[1870]] [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/italy1.htm]. The region remained part of Savoy lands, with the exception of a French occupation from [[1539]] to [[1563]].
 
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During the [[Middle Ages]] the region remained strongly [[Feudalism|feudal]], and castles, such as those of the Challant family in the Valley of Gressoney, still dot the landscape. In the [[12th century|12th]] and [[13th century|13th centuries]], [[German language|German-speaking]] [[Walser]] communities were established in the Gressoney, and some communes retain their separate Walser identity even today.
 
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The Valle d'Aosta remained agricultural and pastoral until the construction of [[dam]]s to harness the potential of its [[hydroelectric power]] brought metal-working industry to the region.
 
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==List of municipalities==
 
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<table><tr valign=top><td>
 
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*[[Allein]]
 
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*[[Antey-Saint-André]]
 
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*[[Aosta|Aosta-Aoste]]
 
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*[[Arnad]]
 
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*[[Arvier]]
 
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*[[Avise]]
 
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*[[Ayas (Aosta Valley)|Ayas]]
 
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*[[Aymavilles]]
 
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*[[Bard (Aosta Valley)|Bard]]
 
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*[[Bionaz]]
 
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*[[Brissogne]]
 
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*[[Brusson]]
 
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*[[Challand-Saint-Anselme]]
 
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*[[Challand-Saint-Victor]]
 
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*[[Chambave]]
 
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*[[Chamois (Aosta Valley)|Chamois]]
 
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*[[Champdepraz]]
 
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*[[Champorcher]]
 
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*[[Charvensod]]
 
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*[[Châtillon (Aosta Valley)|Châtillon]]
 
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*[[Cogne]]
 
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*[[Courmayeur]]
 
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*[[Donnas (Aosta Valley)|Donnas]]
 
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*[[Doues]]
 
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*[[Émarèse]]
 
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<td>
 
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*[[Étroubles]]
 
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*[[Fénis]]
 
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*[[Fontainemore]]
 
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*[[Gaby]]
 
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*[[Gignod]]
 
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*[[Gressan]]
 
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*[[Gressoney-La-Trinité]]
 
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*[[Gressoney-Saint-Jean]]
 
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*[[Hône]]
 
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*[[Introd]]
 
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*[[Issime]]
 
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*[[Issogne]]
 
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*[[Jovençan]]
 
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*[[La Magdeleine]]
 
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*[[La Salle (Aosta Valley)|La Salle]]
 
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*[[La Thuile]]
 
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*[[Lillianes]]
 
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*[[Montjovet]]
 
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*[[Morgex]]
 
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*[[Nus]]
 
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*[[Ollomont]]
 
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*[[Oyace]]
 
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*[[Perloz]]
 
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*[[Pollein]]
 
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*[[Pont-Saint-Martin (Aosta Valley)|Pont-Saint-Martin]]
 
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<td>
 
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*[[Pontboset]]
 
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*[[Pontey]]
 
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*[[Pré-Saint-Didier]]
 
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*[[Quart (Aosta Valley)|Quart]]
 
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*[[Rhêmes-Notre-Dame]]
 
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*[[Rhêmes-Saint-Georges]]
 
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*[[Roisan]]
 
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*[[Saint-Christophe (Aosta Valley)|Saint-Christophe]]
 
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*[[Saint-Denis (Aosta Valley)|Saint-Denis]]
 
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*[[Saint-Marcel (Aosta Valley)|Saint-Marcel]]
 
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*[[Saint-Nicolas (Aosta Valley)|Saint-Nicolas]]
 
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*[[Saint-Oyen (Aosta Valley)|Saint-Oyen]]
 
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*[[Saint-Pierre (Aosta Valley)|Saint-Pierre]]
 
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*[[Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses]]
 
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*[[Saint-Vincent (Aosta Valley)|Saint-Vincent]]
 
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*[[Sarre (Aosta Valley)|Sarre]]
 
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*[[Torgnon]]
 
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*[[Valgrisenche]]
 
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*[[Valpelline]]
 
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*[[Valsavarenche]]
 
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*[[Valtournenche]]
 
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*[[Verrayes]]
 
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*[[Verrès (Aosta Valley)|Verrès]]
 
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*[[Villeneuve (Aosta Valley)|Villeneuve]]
 
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</table>
 
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==External links==
 
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*[http://www.regione.vda.it Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta / Région Autonome Vallée d'Aoste]
 
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*[http://www.aostavalley.com/primaeng.html Aosta Valley]
 
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*[http://www.italy-weather-and-maps.com/maps/italy/valledaosta.gif Map of Valle d'Aosta]
 
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*[http://www.italianvisits.com/valledaosta/ ItalianVisits.com]
 
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*[http://www.aostavalley.com/PV/ppeng.htm "Particularism"]: autonomy in the Valle d'Aosta
 
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{{Italy}}
 
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[[Category:Provinces of Italy]]
 
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[[Category:NUTS 2 Statistical Regions of Europe]]
 

Latest revision as of 09:18, 27 September 2009

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