Regions of Italy:  AOSTA 

 

Capital: Aosta
Population: 126,000

Area: 3,263 km2


The Aosta Valley (
Italian: Valle d'Aosta or Val d'Aosta, French: Vallée-d'Aoste or Val-d'Aoste, Franco-Provençal: Val d'Outa) is a mountainous autonomous region in north-western Italy. It is bordered by France to the west, Switzerland to the north and the region of Piedmont to the south and east.

With an area of 3,263 km² and a population of about 120,000, it is the smallest, least populous, and least densely populated region of Italy. It is the only Italian region which has no provinces (the province of Valle d'Aosta was dissolved in 1945). Provincial administrative functions are provided by the regional government. The region is divided into 74 comuni (communes).

Some communes, concentrated in the valley bottomlands, are Francophone. In the Lys Valley there is a Walser German speaking minority. The regional capital is Aosta.
The Aosta Valley is an
Alpine valley that with its side valleys includes the Italian slopes of Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn; its highest peak is the Mont Blanc.