Nation profile
Aosta Valley
Vâl d'Aoûta, Vallée d'Aoste o Ougschtaland
General information
Presentation
The Aosta Valley is one of the Italian autonomous regions with a special statute, alongside Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sicily and Sardinia. Its devolved powers include control over the economy, agriculture and environment, town and country planning, education and culture.
The country maintains historical and linguistic links with neighbouring Savoy and Valais. A pro-independence movement emerged there in the 1940s. The valley gained self-government in 1948, after the end of WWII, and saw French recognized as its official language alongside Italian.
Language
The historical language of the Aosta Valley is Arpitan or Franco-Provençal, which also includes neighbouring regions of France and Switzerland within it linguistic domain. French was, until the mid-19th century, the language of the upper classes. However, since the end of the 19th century, the Italian state imposed an intense process of Italianization in Aosta.
According to a poll by the Fondation Émile Chanoux, in 2001 Italian was the mother tongue of 77% of the population, Arpitan 18%, and French 1%.
Walser, a variety of the German language, is spoken in three municipalities in the Valley (Gressoney-la-Trinité, Gressoney-Saint-Jean, and Issime).
The two official languages of the Aosta Valley are French and Italian since the approval of the Statute of Autonomy in 1948.
Politics
Capital: Aosta
President: Erik Lavévaz, Union Valdôtaine (since 2020)
Political system: Autonomy with special statute within the Italian Republic
Distribution of seats in Parliament (2020 election). 35 members:
Note 2: AV resulted from the alliance of Union Valdôtaine Progressiste and ALPE, two parties espousing centre-left, pro-autonomy and pro-federalist stances.
Note 3: Pour l'Autonomie is a political party established in 2020 by former UV Aostan president Augusto Rollandin.)
Electoral system: Proportional, with a single constituency
Government: Coalition made up by UV, PCP, AV-SA and Vd'AU.
The Aosta Valley is one of the Italian autonomous regions with a special statute, alongside Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sicily and Sardinia. Its devolved powers include control over the economy, agriculture and environment, town and country planning, education and culture.
The country maintains historical and linguistic links with neighbouring Savoy and Valais. A pro-independence movement emerged there in the 1940s. The valley gained self-government in 1948, after the end of WWII, and saw French recognized as its official language alongside Italian.
Language
The historical language of the Aosta Valley is Arpitan or Franco-Provençal, which also includes neighbouring regions of France and Switzerland within it linguistic domain. French was, until the mid-19th century, the language of the upper classes. However, since the end of the 19th century, the Italian state imposed an intense process of Italianization in Aosta.
According to a poll by the Fondation Émile Chanoux, in 2001 Italian was the mother tongue of 77% of the population, Arpitan 18%, and French 1%.
Walser, a variety of the German language, is spoken in three municipalities in the Valley (Gressoney-la-Trinité, Gressoney-Saint-Jean, and Issime).
The two official languages of the Aosta Valley are French and Italian since the approval of the Statute of Autonomy in 1948.
Politics
Capital: Aosta
President: Erik Lavévaz, Union Valdôtaine (since 2020)
Political system: Autonomy with special statute within the Italian Republic
Distribution of seats in Parliament (2020 election). 35 members:
- Lega (Italian federalist, right to far-right) 11
- Union Valdôtaine (pro-autonomy, centre) 7
- Progetto Civico Progressista (PCP, Italian centre-left) 7
- Alliance Valdôtaine-Stella Alpina-Italia Viva (AC-SA, pro-autonomy, centre-left to centre) 4
- Vallée d'Aoste Unie (Vd'AU, pro-autonomy, centre-left) 3
- Pour l'Autonomie (pro-autonomy, centre) 3
Note 2: AV resulted from the alliance of Union Valdôtaine Progressiste and ALPE, two parties espousing centre-left, pro-autonomy and pro-federalist stances.
Note 3: Pour l'Autonomie is a political party established in 2020 by former UV Aostan president Augusto Rollandin.)
Electoral system: Proportional, with a single constituency
Government: Coalition made up by UV, PCP, AV-SA and Vd'AU.
Links
PoliticsInstitutions and laws
Aosta Valley Autonomous Region www.regione.vda.it
Aosta Valley's Special Statute www.consiglio.regione.vda.it/statuto/statuto_f.pdf
Political parties
Union Valdôtaine www.unionvaldotaine.org
Union Valdôtaine Progressiste www.unionvaldotaineprogressiste.org
ALPE www.alpevda.eu
(Last updated October 2020.)