Aosta - Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

Aosta is the capital of the "Valle d'Aosta", an autonomous region of Italy, which is the smallest region in the country in terms of area and population.

The Aosta Cathedral is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Aosta.

An early Christian structure already existed here at the end of the 4th century. In the 11th century this "Domus Ecclesiae" was replaced by a new one, the "Anselmian Church", named after Bishop Anselm I who commissioned it. This had a basilica plan with three naves. The main apse was flanked by two bell towers. Although the architecture of the cathedral underwent significant changes in the 15th and 16th centuries, the towers both survived. Between 1484 and 1494 the Romanesque "Westwerk" and the two flanking bell towers were demolished in order to enlarge the church.

The current Renaissance-style façade was completed in 1526. Later the neoclassical porch was added