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Aosta Valley Castles in the Lower Valley
The itinerary Aosta Valley Castles
- the high Valley covers the rest of the Castles in the Valley
Aosta Valley is famous for its medieval castles, first
of all the Castles of Fénis, Issogne and Verrès.
Numerous castles are
widespread on the entire regional territory, some of them
splendidly conserved, they offer a complete panoramic of the medieval
military architecture. From the massive tours of the year 1000, to the
primitive castles of XII-XIII sec., to the complex fortifications of sec.
XIII-XIV, up to the refined residences of beginning of 1500, Aosta Valley
allows you to travel through time in the middle ages, following the
evolution of the military techniques, the economic, historic and cultural
changes.
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The landscape is furrow, rugged and undulating and many of the hills
in the Valley are crowned with castles that
were constructed between the 12th and 14th centuries. They feature tall towers, each visible
to another, so that the series of castles represented an efficient lookout and signaling
system that stretched several hundred of miles from Torino to Martigny, in
France.
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A message was transmitted with
flags during the day and with fire during the night, and it took only three hours
for it to go from one city to the other.
Interesting and unusual is the visit to Forte di Bard,
which opened to the public from 15 January 2006. It is a perfect example of
military architecture of the 1800 in the Alps.
In Aosta Valley there are about 150 medieval buildings,
including castles, tours and fortified houses. Historical, political and
geographic reasons made the region the center of important commercial
routes, which brought wealth to the local noble families, allowing them to
realize high artistic level buildings.
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It is exactly in this period that we
have the best masterworks, artistic - civil and religious - of the Aosta
Valley.
Today you can visit the inside of the castles of Fénis, Issogne, Ussel (Chatillon), Sarriod de la
Tour (Saint-Pierre), Sarre and the Castel Savoia di
Gressoney.
The
Forte di Bard is an important
fortification from the Savoia family, rebuilt between 1830 and 1838, after
the destruction operated by the powerful Napoleon army in 1800, when it
resisted for 15 days. The complex, designed by the military engineer Francesco
Antonio Olivero, is made up by several independent parts, able to guarantee
the reciprocal defense.
The Forte is the subject of an important restructuring and valorization and
has been partially been reopened to the public
on 15
January 2006. More than 3.600 square meters are devoted to permanent of temporary
exhibitions.
In the upper structure, called Opera Carlo Alberto, is located the
important
Museo delle Alpi
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The gigantic complex will soon house reception structures, including an
hotel de charme,
a restaurant and a cafeteria.
The medieval Borgo has always been connected to the history of the Fort, as
it developed among the old roman road, that is also the subject of a recent
restoration.
The Fenis Castle, rightfully the most notorious among the
Aosta Valley Castles, is one of the major examples of military and civil
architecture of sec. XIV e XV. The structure, extremely complex, is the
result of several interventions, made mainly from the XIII to the XV sec.,
by one of the most important families of the area: the Challant.
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In Issogne, what from the external seems to be a
simple palace, has inside a splendid mansion, miraculously preserved in its
aspect of sec. 1500. The castle, built on a site used since roman era, has
ancient origins: already in XII sec. there is documentation of a tower
belonging to the bishop of Aosta.
Very meaningful are the frescoes representing scenes of ordinary life in
the middle ages.
The Saint-Pierre Castle, very suggestive for its
position on top of a hill, near the parochial church, has the Museo
regionale di scienze naturali. (Regional Museum of natural science)
The
Ussel
Castle
(Chatillon), first example of mono-block castle in Aosta Valley, is used for
temporary exhibitions. It was donated to the Aosta Valley Region by the baron Marcel Bich,
the founder and owner of the BIC company.
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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
(c) 1997-2008 E. Massetti
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