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Roman ruins and sunny slopes – why underrated Aosta is the ultimate city ski experience

Aosta's Roman heritage is good news for the skier or snowboarder who values culture as much as high-altitude endeavour - ©Buffy1982 - stock.adobe.com
Aosta's Roman heritage is good news for the skier or snowboarder who values culture as much as high-altitude endeavour - ©Buffy1982 - stock.adobe.com

What have the Romans ever done for us? Discounting sanitation, medicine, public order and the rest, precious little, as far as skiers are concerned.

Yes, there were aqueducts, but they left it to the Helvetians to build mountain railways, and the barbaric Hun – imagine Caesar’s fury! – to come up with the ski lift.

Evidently, all that conquest left little time for winter sports. Which is a shame; they would have loved the après.   

The Romans did, however, give us the city of Aosta at the head of the Aosta Valley in Italy, which is home to ski resorts including Cervinia and Courmayeur. And Aosta's Roman heritage is particularly good news for the skier or snowboarder who values high art and culture as much as high-altitude endeavour.

Named for emperor Augustus, back in 25BC the city was a staging post for legionnaires on their way to fight the Gauls. They subdued the local tribes first, then set about impressing them with a magnificent set of building projects, including the obligatory stone arch, bridge and road back to Rome.

A 20-minute gondola ride is all that separates Aosta's historic Roman town centre from the ski slopes of Pila - Credit: VALLE D'AOSTA/ENRICO ROMANZI
A 20-minute gondola ride is all that separates Aosta's historic Roman town centre from the ski slopes of Pila Credit: VALLE D'AOSTA/ENRICO ROMANZI

To really hammer the point home, they built a 4,000-seat amphitheatre – around twice the size of the population at the time – just because they could.

Skier in Pila, Aosta Valley, Italy - Credit: Valle d'Aosta/Mazzoli
Pila's sunny well-groomed ski slopes best suit intermediates and families Credit: Valle d'Aosta/Mazzoli

This beacon of civilisation was the Rome of the Alps. And if savagery was the price of prosperity, then we are the victors of its spoils. Walking among the ruins today, one can imagine centurions shaking the dust from their finery; plumed helmets twitching, frilly leather skirts chafing against their thighs.

Our prized merino baselayers and ski jackets of Gore-Tex seem no less silly, but they are at least suitable for the local environs: the slopes of another Aosta Valley resort, Pila, are just 20-minutes away by gondola, making Aosta the perfect spot for an urbane ski break.  

Roman amphitheatre Aosta, Italy, in snow - Credit: Valle d'Aosta/Enrico Romanzi
Aosta's Roman amphitheatre, originally built to seat 4,000 people Credit: Valle d'Aosta/Enrico Romanzi

An hour and a half from Turin, it packs in good shopping and excellent dining: not just just hearty Alpine fare but good fish dishes too; even some vegetarian options. The cultural milieu not limited to Roman ruins (there is also a fine 11th-century church and a 15th-century monastery). The Tour du Baillage near the amphitheatre is one of 20 fortified towers in the old town, but the only one to feature an ancient toilet jutting out from its upper reaches.

The open-air plumbing is somewhat at odds with the cobbled streets below, which are crammed with fancy food stores and smart boutiques. In short, it is all pleasingly bourgeois.

The best ski resorts for a city break
The best ski resorts for a city break

Inghams introduced the four-star Duca d’Aosta to its programme this season, a charming and freshly renovated hotel right in the city centre. From here it is a 10-minute walk to the gondola; 20-minutes later passengers alight right on the piste at Pila.

Set at 1,800m – with slopes rising to 2,700m – Pila is reliably snowy, even though it’s on the sunny side of the Alps. From the top station, accessed via a slightly vintage two-man chairlift, there are magnificent views towards Monte Bianco (don’t dare call it Mont Blanc) and Mont Cervino (don’t dare call it the Matterhorn). And the slopes? Its cruisy pistes are best suited to intermediates and also beautiful. But, like a Roman, you may find yourself distracted by other things. A cappuccino before the first lift, aperitivo at 11, lunch at midday, an afternoon grappa and a bombardino - warm eggnog with brandy and cream - to kick off the après... la dolce vita takes a lot of time.

Families snow tubing in Pila, Aosta Valley, Italy - Credit: Valle d'Aosta/Mazzoli
Family fun at the snow tubing park in Pila Credit: Valle d'Aosta/Mazzoli

Perhaps that’s why the slopes are so empty. Or maybe the locals know they can cover the resort’s 70km of pistes in a few days. True; the ski area is not enormous, but it will keep a competent family happy for a week. High-mileage powderhounds may champ at the bit for more, but what there is provides a good hit of red run cruising with some black level thrills. Piste 11 - Resselin - is steep enough to feel like a World Cup run, but wide enough to be traversed or, more satisfyingly I found, shotgunned at speed with a few cursory turns to test the edges of your skis – and your nerves.

I was still tingling with excitement after this one over lunch, which, thankfully, is a prolonged affair best enjoyed at Lo Baoutson, at the base of the Couis 2 chair, or La BaraKa at the top of La Chamolé. Expect plenty of wild boar, venison, pasta and polenta.

La BaraKa has wonderful views to Aosta below, and a grisly, life-size Christ on the cross erected behind it, perhaps there to put the fear of God into anyone who tries to ski the Resselin too fast again.

Essential guide | How to find the perfect ski resort
Essential guide | How to find the perfect ski resort

If divine intervention doesn’t alarm you, the terrain park might (it did me). Aside from some easy obstacles for beginners, the jumps are enormous; a leap too far could easily send you into orbit. But it does allow Pila to widen its appeal beyond weekenders and families.

Some may prefer staying in the mountains to the city, and Inghams also features the Lion Noir, which is a little rough around the edges for a three-star but conveniently situated right on the slopes. The four-star La Chance is fancier – with a price tag to match - but a 10-minute walk to the lifts of a morning. The last gondola back to Aosta is at 5pm, so if you stay on the mountain, enjoying city après-ski entails a taxi home.

The Italian cities you'd never thought to visit (but really should)
The Italian cities you'd never thought to visit (but really should)

For something different, staying at the Duca d’Aosta back in the city is my choice. But when in Rome, don’t do as the Romans did – strap your skis on and savour the slopes.

How to do it

Inghams (inghams.co.uk; 01483 791114) offers seven nights’ B&B at the four-star Hotel Duca d’Aosta from £749 including Gatwick flights to Turin and transfers. Half board at the three-star Lion Noir in Pila is from £729. Find out more about skiing in the Aosta Valley at aosta-valley.co.uk.