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 Our
landThe Aosta Valley is a small region in the middle of Europe, enclosed by the Alps among France, Switzerland and Italy and surrounded by the highest peaks in Europe: Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, the Matterhorn-Cervino and Grand-Paradis. Its position, in the heart of the Alps, has made it a very important communication route since ancient times, hence the interest of Romans in conquering this land. The Romans settled in the Aosta Valley after subduing the Salassi, who bravely opposed their expansion campaigns. After the fall of Roman Empire, this region was a disputed territory until, from X to XIX century, it became part of Savoy monarchy, sharing from that moment on its language, traditions and destiny. The Italianisation of the Aosta Valley is thus a recent event, mostly promoted and accelerated by fascist authorities through a policy of massive immigration of Italian-speaking people and a fierce hostility towards French language. The special regime of political and administrative autonomy, recognized by the Italian state in 1948, ratified the official adoption of bilingualism, based on the equal status of Italian and French languages. The local dialect, still alive and very commonly used, is of franco-provençal origin. The Aosta Valley is a mountain region with a strong vocation for tourism: here you will find the most beautiful and impressive mountains in the Alps, from Mont Blanc to Matterhorn-Cervino and Monte Rosa. In this paradise for skiers and nature lovers, wild-life is particularly abundant: here you will find wild animals like chamois, stein bocks, golden eagles and an extraordinary variety of alpine flora. The Aosta Valley offers a rich choice of typical products (cheese, wines, jam, lard, and a top quality arts and crafts production) showing thus its strong attachment to traditions: our activity as a folkloristic group follows this thread. Our music, dancing and songs want to be an homage to our country, a witness of the love we share for it. |
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