Aosta · Italy

Hôtel des États

This is where the Estates General of the Aosta Valley assembled: the body of nobles, clergy and communities that debated taxes, roads and privileges with the Duke of Savoy for centuries. It was neither a modern parliament nor a democratic institution, but it was a place in which the valley could refuse. The eighteenth-century building before you was their seat, with the even front and sober air that Savoyard administration favoured. The Estates were abolished at the end of the eighteenth century, but the notion that this valley settles its own affairs at home has never been abandoned.

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What were the Estates General?

An assembly of the valley’s estates, nobility, clergy and communities, which negotiated with the sovereign, chiefly over taxes.

Why were they abolished?

Because the Savoyard state centralised, and then the upheavals of the late eighteenth century swept away many old-regime assemblies.

Can you go in?

The building has institutional uses and opens only on occasion. The front, though, reads perfectly well from the square.

Where it is

Piazza Émile Chanoux 8, 11100 Aosta · 45.73726, 7.31954 · Open in Maps

Listen where it happened

Part of Memoro, a free audio guide you open in your browser. No app, no account.