Aosta · Italy
Church of San Lorenzo
Beneath the floor of this church lies another, considerably older. Excavation has brought to light an early Christian basilica on a cruciform plan, of the fifth century, erected outside the Roman walls for a precise reason: the dead were buried outside the city, and the first bishops of Aosta rest here. One descends a stair and walks among the foundations, the graves and the original walls. This is the point at which the handover can be observed: the Roman city concludes, the Christian one begins, and for a period they share the same square metre.
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Why outside the walls?
Because Roman law forbade burial inside the city. The first cemetery churches therefore grew up along the roads out, beside the graves.
What is down there?
The cross plan of the basilica, wall foundations, burials and traces of flooring. The route is laid out with walkways.
Who is buried there?
According to the research, several of the first bishops of the Aosta diocese; Saint Orso is traditionally linked to this area.
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