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Aosta Valley Castles - the high Valley
The itinerary Aosta
Valley Castles - the lower Valley cover the rest of the castles in the
lower Valley of Aosta.
The Sarre Castle, of ancient
origins, was chosen by the king Vittorio Emanuele II as "pied à terre"
for his hunting in Aosta Valley.
It was transformed by the son Umberto I,
who prepared the famous horn room, and was visited frequently by
the prince Umberto II and his wife Maria José. It remained a residence of
the Savoia until their exile.
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The Sarriod de la Tour Castle in Saint-Pierre was
reopened to the public in 2003. It is an interesting complex castle,
transformed and enlarged several times during the ages.
Around an old
donjon surrounded by walls there are other buildings and towers which
constitute a very suggestive ensemble.
Not to miss during the visit are the chapel from '200, with frescoes,
the viret (stairs) from '400 and the famous heads room, interesting in
special mode for the 171 wood mensole that support the wooden ceiling.
These
artifacts were sculpted in the second quarter of XV sec., they anticipate
the themes and the wooden style of the Cattedrale and of Sant'Orso. There
are fantastic or grotesque figures.
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The Cly Castle, that was owned by the Challant family,
presents a primitive typology. The wide walls occupies the whole top of
a hill that dominates the central valley over Chambave,
that was already frequented during ancient ages.
The donjon (dated 1027
from dendrocronologic exams) is surrounded by a romanic chapel and by
some living quarters and cellars. In 1376 it passed under the direct
control of the Savoia who instituted a castellania until 1550.
Abandoned for centuries and reduced mostly in ruins, it is nonetheless
very interesting to reconstruct the interactions with the territory and
the communities.
It is owned by the town of Saint-Denis,
it is open for guided visits only during the summer period.
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Among the other castles that cannot be visited inside,
and are the subject of restoration works are worth mentioning the Castles of
Quart and
Aymavilles.
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Saint Germain and Chenal (Montjovet), Chatel Argent
(Villeneuve), Graines (Brusson, Val d'Ayas), Villa
(Challant-Saint-Victor, Val d'Ayas), Montmayeur (Avise),
Chatelard (La Salle) merit a visit even if part of the old structures
are in ruin.
They were built for strategic reasons on elevated sites,
difficult to reach, and they are for this reason sites with very nice
panoramic views.
The Castles of Introd, Nus,
Saint-Christophe and Chatillon are private residences still
inhabited by their owners.
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The Roman walls of Aosta have a lot of towers, that
were transformed in medieval times in the residence of various local nobles.
Important are the
Tour de la Trinité, which belonged to the Signori di Porta Sant'Orso (later
Signori di Quart), realized on one of the tower near the Porta Praetoria,
and the
Torre dei balivi, built on top of an old roman tower in the northern
corner of the town.
The castle Bramafam was very important, it was
built near the southern port of Augusta Praetoria, and it was the place of
the
Visconti of the city who got later the name Challant from one of their
numerous feuds.
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| The Castel Savoia di Gressoney, even if has
medieval style, was finished only in the year 1904. Quinn Regina Margherita
wanted it because she loved very much this locality, and preferred it to the
castle of
Sarre, residence of the royal family in Aosta Valley.
Other medieval castles, sometimes equally interesting but waiting for a
proper valorization, are located also in Avise, Arvier, Morgex,
Arnad, Pont-Saint-Martin, Etroubles, Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses, Saint-Marcel
while primitive towers and small guard towers are located over the
entire regional territory.
Courtesy of
Donato Arcaro, touristic and naturalistic guide
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(c) 1997-2008 E. Massetti
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