Aosta · Italy
The Decumanus Maximus
Beneath the asphalt you are treading lies the Roman street, with its paving slabs, raised pavements and water channels. The decumanus maximus crossed the city from east to west, from the Porta Praetoria to the Porta Decumana, and was about 10 metres wide: enough for two carts to pass without halting. It was the street of shops, arcades and din. It performs exactly the same function today. Few cities anywhere can declare that their principal street is in the same place and at the same work after two thousand years.
Go deeper
How deep is the Roman street?
Around two or three metres below today’s level, depending where. Every urban dig in Aosta meets it sooner or later.
How was it built?
Stone slabs over several layers of hardcore, sloped for drainage, with channels at the sides. A technique meant to last centuries, and it did.
Can it be seen anywhere?
Yes: in a few places stretches of Roman paving have been left visible under glass or in archaeological areas open to visitors.
Where it is
More stories in Aosta
- Adret and envers
- When the railway arrived
- Arch of Augustus
- Regional Archaeological Museum
- The villages the city swallowed
- The Battle of the Queens
- Aosta Cathedral
- Church of Santo Stefano