Augusta Prætoria Salassorum is an old settlement in present day Italy, now called Aosta. It was conquered by the Romans in 25 BC. According the historian Strabo, 36,000 Salassians were sold into slavery at an auction by the Romans after the conquest, but that may be an exaggeration.
Situated at the confluence of two rivers and also the meeting point of two important Alpine passes, Grand and Petit St Bernard, it had a strong military importance for the Romans.
The city walls were built at the conquest and are still very well preserved. The eastern entrance to the city, Porta Prætoria, is formed of two series of arches enclosing a small square in between. The gate was built at the same time as the conquest (25 BC), but the little square in between was completed in the 1st C AD. You can see the Porta Prætoria in two of my images.
One rainy day in Verbier, Arne and Rada took us across the Alps to Italy and Aosta. We took the Grand Saint Bernard pass and went through the tunnel on our way to Aosta, but returned via the original pass across the Alps, The Grand St Bernard pass at 2,469 metres. The tunnel is open all year through, but the pass over the Alps is closed from late September to early June. The original Roman road crossing the pass was built in the year 12 BC. As soon as we entered the Italian side the weather changed. The clouds were replaced by blue skies and a shining sun
Petit St Bernard Pass goes from France to Aosta in Italy from the west at 2,200 metres altitude, whereas Grand St Bernard Pass goes from Switzerland to Aosta from the north. Hannibal, who attacking the Romans in 218 BC brought elephants and took them from Spain over the Pyrenees to the Rhône valley in France and crossed into Italy maybe via Petit St Bernard (although none is sure which route his army took) to surprise the Romans from their north flank. We, driven by Arne and Rada, had a slightly easier journey than the one that Hannibal experienced.
