Valle d'Aosta travel:
Castles in the high Valley

Valle d'Aosta Castles - the high Valley

The itinerary Valle d'Aosta 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 a terre" for his hunting in Valle d'Aosta.

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 Jose'. It remained a residence of the Savoia until their exile.

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.

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.

The castles of 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.

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 Trinite', 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.

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 Valle d'Aosta.

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-Rhemy-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