Look ahead for a tall, square medieval stone tower rising just beyond the lower ruins, with a strikingly simple and sturdy design-this is the Tour Fromage, standing proudly next to Aosta’s ancient walls.
Now, as you stand before the Tour Fromage, let your imagination whisk you back to the twelfth century. Picture the clang of blacksmiths, the scent of wood fires, and this formidable tower, built for the Du Fromage family-who, by the way, weren’t the local cheese makers, but important allies to Aosta’s bishop and the rulers of Porta Sant’Orso. Life around the tower wasn’t always peaceful: the documents of 1191 prove it was precious enough for Tommaso I of Savoy himself to restore it to the bishop-perhaps after a dramatic game of medieval keep-away! Centuries later, the last heiress of the Casei family, the famous Jeannette du Fromage, married Claude Vaudan, tying the tower’s fate to yet another powerful family-and probably creating some very complicated dinner parties. In 1549, history took a tasty twist, as the tower hosted a grand feast for Ferrante I Gonzaga, the Governor of Milan, on imperial business-imagine the music, laughter, and the anxious organizers hoping not to spill soup on the VIP guest! Today, the tower is owned by the Region of Aosta and sometimes transforms into a dreamy exhibit space. Just think: all those centuries of whispers, footsteps, and secrets-right here, beneath your feet.
