Overview
The large Chanoux Square was built under the reign of Charles Albert, after whom it was named before being dedicated to the notary Émile Chanoux, leader and martyr of the Aosta Valley Resistance. It is the city's parlour, and a place for meetings, festivals and markets. It houses the most elegant buildings in Aosta, including the neoclassical Town Hall, with beautiful decorations and an interior rich in frescoes and inlays. In front of the building stands the monument to the Soldier of the Aosta Valleyby Pietro Canonica, from 1924.
Next to the Town Hall, the Hôtel des États, now a venue for temporary exhibitions, is an important building from 1724–25: it was the seat of the duchy's administration, the Conseil des Commis, and, for a period from 1870, also a court. Also on the same square are theformer Hotel Couronne (formerly the Post Office), recognisable by the small loggia on its façade, and the Frassy palace, with its Art Nouveau majolica façade but of 19th-century design. The Hôtel Centoz was based here, with the courtyard used as a post office and equipped to accommodate carriages and horses.
Piazza Émile Chanoux, 11100 Aosta AO, Italia
