Il castello di Pont-Saint-Martin, detto anche castellaccio e castello vecchio, sorge su di un'altura morenica a dominare il borgo di Pont-Saint-Martin, in Valle d'Aosta. Posto all'imbocco della destra orografica della valle del Lys, venne costruito in una posizione strategica sia per il contatto visivo con la torre di Pramotton che per l'invio di segnali luminosi da un presidio all'altro della valle a scopo difensivo. Abbandonato secoli fa, è ridotto a rudere e meta di passeggiate da parte degli appassionati di trekking.
Architettura
Sul lato est del complesso, oggi in rovina, il castello fin dalle origini era caratterizzato da un mastio a pianta esagonale, forma anomala per il panorama dei castelli valdostani, ma paragonabile al mastio della vicina Torre di Pramotton e per Francesco Corni ispirato dai castelli inglesi di Cornaevon e Arundel. Questo nucleo originario, poco confortevole e inadatto a una funzione abitativa, veniva usato saltuariamente e solo in caso di arrocco.
Adattandosi alla morfologia del promontorio, formato da rocce lisciate dal ghiacciaio quaternario che dirupano a levante, le mura di cinta avevano forma irregolare e si aprivano con un accesso di facile controllo sul lato meridionale, in concomitanza dell'unico e stretto passaggio obbligato consentito dal territorio.

All'interno delle mura, a ponente, si leggono ancora le strutture più propriamente abitative, come la cappella e la cucina di cui resta la volta a cupola con un foro centrale per dar sfogo al fumo dell'alto camino[1] e che ricorda per dimensioni quella conservatasi al castello di Introd. Ad uno spigolo del castello resta svettante, curiosamente, una torretta cilindrica pensile, decorata da una serie di archetti ciechi che mostra somiglianze con lo stile decorativo dei castelli piemontesi costruiti intorno ai primi del Quattrocento.

Castello di Pont-Saint-Martin

Account

by category

Login

Name

by region

Title

Name in English

Situated in the centre of the municipal seat, the castle is the oldest in Perloz, and certainly dates back to the 12th century, as confirmed by a document from 1195, which refers to a “sala domini” in Perloz.
It is still known as the “Ohtal” (from the Latin “hospitalis” and French “ostel”), that is a comfortable dwelling with all necessary facilities.
The construction is imposing with five floors above ground, and these dimensions must have had a political importance: the imposing size of the fortified house was meant to catch the eye of anyone going up the Lys Valley, proof of the power of the Vallaise family.
Its interesting features include a series of two-mullioned, trilobate, round, and cross windows, ended in grey stone. On the inside the palace had a well yielding fresh water. Two large fireplaces are still visible; one bears the Vallaise family coat of arms, sculpted in grey stone.
The castle was burned down during Nazi-fascist rounding up campaign on June 30 1944. The roof was restored, but it wasn’t possible to recover the two floors with wood flooring.

http://www.lovevda.it

Vallaise Castle

Fort Bard, also known as Bard Fort (Italian: Forte di Bard; French: Fort de Bard), is a fortified complex built in the 19th century by the House of Savoy on a rocky prominence above Bard, a town and comune in the Aosta Valley region of northwestern Italy. Fort Bard has been completely restored after many years of neglect. In 2006 it reopened to tourists as the Museum of the Alps, it has additional art exhibitions and galleries. In the summer, the main courtyard is used to host musical and theatrical performances.
History
The fort, which is at the entrance to the Aosta Valley, is located in a narrow gorge above the Dora Baltea river. It has been used for millennia to control the historic route between Italy and France. The current fortifications were built by Charles Albert of Savoy between 1830 and 1838. It replaced a 10th-century castle that had, itself, been built on an earlier structure founded by Theodoric I in the 5th century. The castle was under the control of the powerful local lords of Bard until the middle of the 13th century when ownership passed to the House of Savoy. Under their control, the defences were strengthened and improved. On May 14, 1800, a 40,000-strong French army was stopped by 400 Austro-Piedmontese soldiers at Fort Bard. They held the pass for two weeks, completely ruining Napoleon Bonaparte's plan of making a surprise attack on the Po Valley and Turin. When he heard the news, he named the fort vilain castel de Bard. Bonaparte then gave the order himself, that the fort should be razed to the ground. It was not until 1830 that Charles Albert of Savoy, fearing new attacks from the French, ordered that the fort be rebuilt. The task was entrusted to the famed Italian military engineer, Francesco Antonio Olivero. The work, which took eight years to complete, created a fort with two distinct levels. The upper part had conventional battlements whereas the lower part had 50 gun ports in autonomous casemates that were designed to offer mutual protection if attacked. A total of 416 soldiers could now be billeted in the 283-room fort. The upper level had a courtyard which contained the arsenals and barracks. The fort had enough ammunition and food supplies for three months. By the end of the 19th century, the fort had lost its military value and fell into disuse. However, the Italian Army did continue to use the fort as a powder magazine. When it closed in 1975, ownership passed to the government of the Autonomous Region of Valle d'Aosta. In the 1980s the fort opened as a tourist attraction despite many buildings needing urgent repair.

Present day
In the late 1990s the fort was closed. It then underwent major restoration work. In 2006 Fort Bard reopened as the Museum of the Alps. Fort Bard and its town were used as the fictional Eastern European country of Sokovia in the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron directed by Joss Whedon.

Fort Bard

Il Castello di Settimo Vittone sorge su una rocca che domina il paese di Settimo Vittone, a circa 10 km dalla città di Ivrea, sulla vecchia strada che conduce ad Aosta. Nel VI Secolo, secondo la tradizione locale, a poca distanza dal castello, sarebbe sorto un monastero di benedettini.

Probabilmente a difesa di questo convento venne eretta una torre, denominata torre Daniele, dal nome del frate fondatore, mentre intorno all'anno 893 fu fatta costruire da Attone Ascario, marchese d'Ivrea, la fortezza-castello di Settimo. Secondo la leggenda, Asgarda, regina dei Franchi e sorella di Attone Ascario, fu sepolta all'interno della cinta castellana, poco distante dal complesso paleocristiano formato dalla pieve di San Lorenzo e dal battistero, risalenti al IX secolo.

Nel 1179 il borgo divenne feudo del vescovo d'Ivrea, Germano che lo concesse ai Suzo, primi signori di Settimo Vittone. Alcuni documenti affermano che nel settembre del 1193 Guido II, vescovo d'Ivrea, impose a Corrado di Settimo di rispettare i vercellesi in transito per la vallata e di non esigere dazio per le pietre dei mulini che i Vercellesi producevano. Nel XV secolo tutti i diritti feudali furono acquisiti dagli Enrico (o Henrico) antichi signori dei luoghi, che divenuti conti, si divideranno in vari rami tra cui quello degli Enrico di Setto, discendenti da Fabrizio, che cambierà l'antico cognome in Setto e quello del conte Giacomo Filippo Enrico (o Henrico). Questa consorteria signoreggerà su Settimo Vittone sino al 1859 e fu quella che detenne più a lungo il maniero.

Il Castello fu sosta importante per i pellegrini cristiani provenienti dal Nord Europa diretti a Roma attraverso la via Francigena. A giudicare dalla planimetria e dagli sparsi muri doveva avere dimensioni amplissime, tali da considerarlo il castello il più imponente di tutta l'area della Dora Baltea. Nel XVI secolo, Carlo III di Savoia lo fece smantellare. Fu ricostruito di seguito con le fattezze di una villa residenziale.

Castello di Settimo Vittone

Il castello di Arnad è uno dei più antichi castelli della Valle d'Aosta, posto nel comune di Arnad. Il castello, risalente al XII secolo, è situato su un promontorio naturale che domina il villaggio di Ville con le sue caseforti, a controllo sia dell'antica Via Francigena che della strada che attraverso il colle del vallone di Machaby collegava la valle centrale alla valle di Gressoney.
Cenni storici

Piantina del castello superiore di Arnad (Carlo Nigra)

I castelli di Arnad: in alto a sinistra il castello di Arnad, in basso al centro la casaforte della Costa, in basso a destra il castello Valleise.

Vista del castello superiore di Arnad dal paese, disegno di Carlo Nigra su schizzo di Alfredo D'Andrade
Il castello di Arnad viene nominato per la prima volta in una bolla papale del 1207 nella quale viene citata la relativa cappella intitolata a santa Maria Maddalena ed a san Michele Arcangelo, ma non ci sono certezze sulle sue origini e sui suoi primi proprietari.

Una prima ipotesi storiografica sostiene che il castello fu fatto costruire da Saverio di Arnad (Xavier d'Arnad, o in generale dalla famiglia de Arnado) nel XII o forse XIII secolo.

Una seconda ipotesi sostiene invece che il castello apparteneva già nel XII secolo ai signori di Bard, e che sia stato Guglielmo di Bard a riceverlo in dono dai Savoia. Secondo questa ipotesi, divenne di proprietà di Guillaume de Bard insieme al castello di Pont-Saint-Martin dopo le pesanti lotte che lo videro impegnato in scontri armati col fratello Ugo. Nel 1239, per ragioni economiche, metà del castello di Arnad venne infeudato a Ruffino de Arnado e dal 1293 l'intero complesso venne venduto ai signori di Vallaise.

La famiglia dei Vallaise vi abitò per tutto il XIV secolo e viene ricordato dalle cronache che nel 1351 vi ospitarono a pranzo Amedeo VI di Savoia. Al dominio dei Vallaise risale la parte centrale che è composta da un fabbricato del XIV secolo, merlato, dotato di grandi camini e stemmi dell'epoca affrescati e graffiti alle pareti ed affiancato da una slanciata torre che ospita le latrine, un unicum nella Valle d'Aosta dell'epoca, probabilmente ispirata alla torre con la stessa destinazione costruita qualche anno prima nel Palazzo dei Papi di Avignone. Per l'inadeguatezza della struttura e l'ormai oltrepassata funzione bellica, la struttura venne abbandonata a partire dal XV secolo e dal XVII la famiglia si trasferì nel castello della Costa, sempre ad Arnad ma a una latitudine inferiore, il che dettò la fine dello splendore della rocca superiore, che ha conservato tutte le sue caratteristiche romaniche senza alcuna contaminazione successiva, tanto da costituire insieme al contemporaneo castello di Ussel a Chatillon un raro esempio storico ed architettonico.

Oggi il castello non è fruibile e resta di proprietà privata, a differenza del castello inferiore di Arnad noto come castello Vallaise, acquisito nel 2010 dalla Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta.

Castello superiore di Arnad

On the old road leading to Aosta, less than an hour from Turin, on top of a rocky outcrop overlooking the small village below and the beautiful countryside in the mountains of Piedmont and Aosta Valley is located the Castello di Montestrutto. It was built in neo-Gothic style around a tower of the 9th century. A panoramic staircase leads to the castle's garden. The property, of about 800 square meters, internally consists of a large entrance, frescoed with scenes that reflect the history of the Castle, a richly decorated hallway, a living room and a large dining room with adjacent kitchen. On the first floor there are the stateroom, a studio room, the master bedroom and several other bedrooms.
The castle is in excellent condition and it is currently used as tourist accommodation.
https://www.italy-sothebysrealty.com

Montestrutto Castle  

Issogne Castle is a castle in Issogne, in lower Aosta Valley, in northwestern Italy. It is one of the most famous manors of the region, and is located on the right bank of the Dora Baltea at the centre of the inhabited area of Issogne. As a seigniorial residence of the Renaissance, the Castle has quite a different look from that of the austere Verrès Castle, which is located in Verrès, on the opposite bank of the river.

Issogne Castle is most noteworthy for its fountain in the form of pomegranate tree and its highly decorated portico, a rare example of medieval Alpine painting, with its frescoed cycle of scenes of daily life from the late Middle Ages.
Middle ages
The earliest mention of the castle of Issogne is in a Papal bull issued by Pope Eugene III in 1151, which refers to a fortified building at Issogne, the property of the Bishop of Aosta. Some walling discovered in the cellars of the current castle may be evidence of a Roman villa, dating from the 1st century BC, on the site.

Tensions between the Bishop of Aosta and the De Verrecio family, lords of the nearby town of Verrès, reached boiling point around 1333, when the castle of Issogne, the episcopal seat, was attacked and damaged by fire. Issogne remained the seat of the bishop until 1379, when the bishop of Aosta submitted to the jurisdiction of the then lord of Verrès, Yblet of Challant. Ibleto transformed the episcopal stronghold into an elegant princely residence in Gothic style, with a series of towers and buildings enclosed by an encircling wall.

When Yblet died in 1409, the feud and castle of Issogne passed to his son Francis of Challant (French: François de Challant), who in 1424 received the title of Count of Challant from the Duke of Savoy. Francesco died in 1442, leaving no male heir. A long succession struggle between Francesco's daughter Catherine of Challant and her cousin James of Challant-Aymavilles (French: Jacques de Challant-Aymavilles) was won by James, who thus became the second Count of Challant and the new lord of Issogne.

Renaissance
From about 1480, further alterations were made to the Castle by James's son Luigi di Challant, and continued after his death in 1487 by his cousin, the prior George of Challant-Varey (French: Georges de Challant-Varey), to whom James's wife Marguerite de la Chambre had granted custody of his sons Philibert and Charles. George had new wings erected to connect the already existing buildings, unifying the complex into a single horseshoe shape surrounding a central courtyard. The decorations of the portico and the celebrated pomegranate fountain date to this period. The Castle hosted many illustrious guests, including the future emperor Sigismund of Luxemburg as he returned to Germany in 1414, and King Charles VIII of France in 1494.

Work on the Castle ended with the death of George of Challant in 1509. Philibert of Challant became the new lord of Issogne, and made the Castle a residence for himself, his wife Louise d'Aarberg and his son René of Challant, under whom the Castle reached its greatest splendour and hosted a rich and refined court.

Decline and rebirth
Renato di Challant left no male heir at his death in 1565. His possessions passed to Giovanni Federico Madruzzo, husband of René's daughter Isabelle, giving rise to an inheritance dispute between the Madruzzo family and Isabelle's cousins of the Challant family that lasted for more than a century. The lordship of Issogne and its Castle passed from the Madruzzo family to the Lenoncourt family, then in 1693 to Cristina Maurizia Del Carretto di Balestrina, and was finally returned to the Challant family in 1696.

In 1802, the last count of Challant, Giulio Giacinto, died, and the Challant family was extinguished. The Castle, already abandoned for some years, fell into decay and its furniture was removed. In 1872 the owner of the Castle, Baron Marius de Vautheleret, was forced to sell it at auction. It was acquired by the Turin painter Vittorio Avondo, who restored it, furnishing it with some of its original furniture bought back from the antique market, and with copies of furniture of the period. Avondo donated the Castle to the Italian state in 1907; in 1948 it passed to the Aosta Valley region.

The Castle may be visited by guided tour.

Issogne Castle

Verrès Castle (Italian: Castello di Verrès, French: Château de Verrès) is a fortified 14th-century castle in Verrès, in the lower Aosta Valley, in north-western Italy. It has been called one of the most impressive buildings from the Middle Ages in the area. Built as a military fortress by Yblet de Challant in the fourteenth century, it was one of the first examples of a castle constructed as a single structure rather than as a series of buildings enclosed in a circuit wall.
The castle stands on a rocky promonitory on the opposite side of the Dora Baltea from Issogne Castle. The castle dominates the town of Verrès and the access to the Val d'Ayas. From the outside it looks like an austere cube, thirty metres long on each side and practically free of decorative elements.
The earliest documents attesting the existence of a castle at Verrès (in the possession of the De Verretio family) date to 1287. At that time, control of the area was contested between the Bishop of Aosta and some noble families which were vassals of the Counts of Savoy: the De Turrilia, De Arnado, and De Verretio. The De Verretio in particular had harsh disagreements with the prelate over the years, which culminated in the episcopal casaforte in Issogne in 1333.

Around the middle of the fourteenth century, the De Verretio became extinct without leaving any possible heirs, so their property came into the possession of the counts of Savoy, who granted it to Yblet de Challant in 1372 as a reward for diverse duties discharged in their service.

Yblet entirely rebuilt the castle, producing a fortress that was practically impenetrable and distinct from most of the contemporary castles of the region which consisted of a number of buildings surrounded by a circuit wall.

Verrès Castle

The Montalto Dora Castle gazed at centuries of history, from the Savoy to the Spanish, the French to the Germans, suffering numerous attacks by invaders, living the troubled Napoleonic period and savoring the long-awaited peace through the unification of Italy.
Its construction is attributed to the first half of the XII century , as evidenced by a document dated 1140, in which it is mentioned as “Castrum Montisalti”, belonging to the jurisdiction of Ivrea City’s Bishop.

The manor has been owned by multiple lineages.
In the XIV century it became part of the possessions of Savoy, who in 1403 sold it to De Jordanis of Bard family, who carried on with the construction.

Among the various attacks, we must remember the one that occurred during the siege of Ivrea in 1641, by the French troops of the Marquis d’ Harcourt, in the war against the Duchy of Savoy.
On that occasion the interior of the manor was dismantled, while external structures remained almost intact.

At the beginning of the XVIII century the castle passed to the Vallesa family, who owned it until the early XIX century, when the lineage ended.
It later belonged to the Count Severino of the Barons of Casana, who began to restore and enhance it.
In the early1900 an important study on the castle’s restoration was accomplished by Dr. Carlo Nigra, an engineer, together with the portoguese architect Alfredo d’Andrade, creator of the Turin “Borgo Medievale” (an accurate reconstruction of a medieval village in the city centre).

In 1963 the Castle became property of the Allioni of Brondello family. From 1965 to 1985 they proceeded to restore the buildings inside the walls, and to enhance the park.
In the last years, the current owners have gone on completing a functional restoration of internal and external spaces, along with several enhancing works for the whole park and its vegetation.

http://www.castellomontaltodora.com

The Montalto Dora Castle

Il castello di San Giuseppe a Chiaverano, ebbe una notevole importanza storica quale punto di osservazione militare - dalla sommità del monte Albagna che prospetta sul lago Sirio - degli antichi romani impegnati nella guerra contro i salassi. La zona in cui si erge è ritenuta uno dei più antichi luoghi di insediamento umano. L'omonimo convento di San Giuseppe - ha ospitato per lungo tempo diversi ordini religiosi. Trasformato in dimora signorile fra il XVII secolo ed il XVIII secolo, fu fortificato da Napoleone Bonaparte e nell'Ottocento è divenuto luogo di ritrovo per artisti e letterati quali Arrigo Boito, Eleonora Duse e Giuseppe Giacosa, nativo della vicina Colleretto Parella oggi Colleretto Giacosa.


Castello di Chiaverano

Building started in 1358 by order of Count Amedeo VI Savoy, to defend the Savoy territory against the claims of other lords, in a strategic position in the highest part of the city, when the area of Ivrea (called Canavese), was troubled by the struggles between the lords of Valperga and those of Saint Martino, who sided with the Savoy.
When peace was restored the castle became a refined residence, and there lived the duchesses of the House of Savoy, who favored the development of culture and arts. During the 16th century the area was againdevastated by the French-Spanish wars and the castle was turned from a rich abode into a military garrison, and in the 18th century was furtherly transformed into a prison, then was closed in 1970. At last in 1994 the Italian state gave it to the town council and now the castle is open to the public in many occasions.
More info on the town of Ivrea.
https://www.enchantingitaly.com