Description of the attraction
The complex of Sant'Orso, dedicated to Saint Ursus of Aosta, is one of the major landmarks of the city of Aosta and one of the most interesting religious complexes in the Alps, consisting of the churches of St. Peter and Sant'Orso, a wonderful free-standing bell tower, an excellent cloister and a small Renaissance monastery.
In ancient times, on the site of the Sant Orso complex, there was a vast urban necropolis, on the territory of which an early Christian temple was erected in the 5th century. The original building of the Church of San Orso consisted of one hall, bounded by a semicircular apse. And in the 9th century, during the reign of the Carolingian dynasty, it was completely rebuilt. Later, on the initiative of the local bishop Anselm, the church was also reconstructed - this time it was built according to the plan of a basilica with three naves with wooden trusses. The latter were replaced in the 15th century by Gothic baptismal vaults. Choirs and mosaics belong to the Gothic period.
Today in the church of Sant'Orso there are many missals - liturgical books and reliquaries, including the relics of Saint Ursus, which rest in the crypt, and the relics of Saint Gratus of Aostius. Particularly noteworthy is the cloister of the church with capitals decorated with figures of people and animals, which depict scenes from the life of Ursus of Aostius - it is called a "marble masterpiece". The cloister consists of 37 marble columns, although its northern part was demolished in the 18th century.
The 44-meter bell tower of the complex, erected in 989, has retained part of the original medieval structure, although it acquired its current Romanesque appearance in the 12th century. Inside the church, in the space between the current vault and the original ceiling, there are fragments of Romanesque painting depicting scenes from the New Testament.
