Top 7 Castles around Saint-Vincent

Bridge over the Dora - view of Ussel Castle: The Castello di Ussel, also known as Castello Baron Gamba, is an impressive medieval castle in the Valle d’Aosta region, Italy. The castle is located on a steep rocky cliff and overlooks the Dora Baltea valley.

The Castello di Issogne is one of the most famous castles in the Aosta Valley and is known for its Renaissance style that contrasts with the nearby, more austere Castello di Verrès. The castle has a remarkable courtyard with a fountain in the shape of a pomegranate tree and a colorful portico, a rare example of medieval Alpine painting, with frescoes depicting scenes from everyday life in the late Middle Ages. The castle's history dates back to a papal bull in 1151, and it has a rich history that includes its transformation from an episcopal fortress into an elegant princely residence. The castle is open to visitors and offers a unique look at the culture and architecture of the region.

The Castello di Verrès is an impressive medieval castle in the Aosta Valley, built in the 14th century by Yblet de Challant. The castle is known for its unique monolithic structure, which resembles a solid cube and differs from most other castles of the time which consisted of multiple buildings within a walled enclosure. Dominating the town of Verrès and the entrance to the Val d'Ayas, the castle has a military character that merges with elegant stone details that adorn the windows, doors and monumental mantelpieces. The castle has no corner towers nor a keep.

The Castello Gamba, also known as Castello Baron Gamba, is a palazzo of 20th century origins in the town of Châtillon, located on a hill in the western region of the city, near the regional hotel school. Surrounded by a park open to the public all year round, the castle offers spectacular views over the valley. It was built as a summer residence and is named after its owner, the Turin baron Carlo Maurizio Gamba. The building's architecture, influenced by the medieval revival style of the time, includes two symmetrical wings that protrude slightly from the front of the castle. Located on the rocky cliff of Crêt-de-Breil, the castle overlooks the Dora Baltea and was originally built as a declaration of love by Baron Gamba to his beloved wife, Angélique Passerin d'Entrèves, originally from Châtillon. Inside, the castle houses the Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea della Valle d'Aosta, with a permanent exhibition of more than 150 works, including those of the famous Romantic painter J.M. William Turner and other artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The castle of Issogne stands a short distance from the Dora Baltea: a Roman villa, a robust stronghold owned by the bishop, a medieval manor, a refined stately home that testifies to the power and wealth of the Challant family, and a dream castle for Vittorio Avondo. The external appearance, severe and modest, hides centuries of history and magnificent masterpieces inside. From the courtyard with the coats of arms to the lunettes of the atrium, from the lush garden to the pomegranate fountain, it represents a triumph of late Gothic art, in the transition period between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. Here every detail tells the story of Prior George of Challant, refined promoter of the architectural modifications and decorations that give the castle a uniqueness in the medieval figurative culture of the Alpine regions.

The castle, built no earlier than the 13th century with a rectangular structure, was part of the heritage of the lords of Montjovet. Only later, following the marriage between Ebalo the Great and Alexie of Chenal, did it become the property of the Challant family: in this way, the two families could control the passages on the road between Chenal and the castle of Montjovet. Today, the castle, located along the route of the Via Francigena and the Cammino Balteo, is reduced to a ruin.

In Turin in the medieval castle there is a copy of the pomegranate from the Issogne castle.

The History Initially the domain of the Bishops of Aosta, ownership later passed into the hands of the Challant family. Over time, the existing buildings were enlarged and joined together, leading to the radical transformation that took place between around 1490 and 1510 by Giorgio di Challant, prior of Sant’Orso, who made it a sumptuous residence for his cousin Margherita de La Chambre and her son Filiberto. It was then that the castle took on its current appearance, becoming a single horseshoe-shaped palace, overlooking a large courtyard and an Italian garden, on whose high boundary wall important figures and heroes were painted; the ground floor portico was adorned with a series of frescoed lunettes depicting scenes of daily life and representations of workshops, while in the center of the courtyard rose the famous wrought-iron fountain known as the Pomegranate Fountain, a symbol of prosperity. Also during that period, many interior rooms were decorated with frescoes, both in the reception areas, such as the Hall of Justice or the Chapel, and in the more private rooms, including the oratories of Margherita de La Chambre or Giorgio di Challant. After the splendors of the 16th century, the residence began a progressive decline and in 1872 was sold at public auction: purchased by the Turin painter Vittorio Avondo, it became the subject of a careful restoration campaign that restored its ancient splendor. Donated to the State in 1907, today the castle belongs to the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta and presents some elements of the original furniture and other furnishings redone at the end of the 19th century, which, together with numerous domestic objects, recreate the late 15th-century setting desired by Avondo. The Visit Upon entering the palace, one finds oneself in the courtyard, surrounded by buildings on whose walls are depicted the coats of arms of the Challant family and those related to it. Passing the pomegranate fountain, one proceeds towards the entrance hall: the frescoes in the lunettes of the portico realistically depict the daily life of the village, showing the guardhouse, the butcher's and baker's shops, the fruit and vegetable market, the tailor, the apothecary, and the grocer. Subsequently, the visit proceeds to the interior of the castle: on the ground floor, the dining room, the kitchen, and the baronial hall, where one can admire a beautiful stone fireplace bearing the Challant coat of arms flanked by a lion and a griffin on its hood, paintings on the wooden ceiling beams, and walls frescoed with landscapes, hunting scenes, and the Judgment of Paris; on the first floor, the chapel, with finely decorated ogival vaults, with frescoes on the walls and with the Gothic carved and gilded wooden altar adorned with a Flemish triptych, and the Countess's chamber, with the oratory decorated with paintings; on the second floor, the room known as the "King of France's room", with a coffered ceiling decorated with fleurs-de-lis and a fireplace bearing the shield of the French Valois dynasty on its hood, and the one known as the "Knights of Saint Maurice" with a beautiful coffered ceiling on which the cross of this order is painted. At a short distance from the castle, the ruins of the dovecote still stand. The Avondo Apartment Since 2018, an emotional exhibition dedicated to Vittorio Avondo, the illustrious owner of the castle of Issogne, enhances and enriches the castle's offering by highlighting its late 19th-century history with a series of panels, multimedia solutions, and elements of poetic suggestion. Born in Turin in 1836 and dedicated to painting from a young age, Avondo is considered one of the best representatives of 19th-century Piedmontese landscape painting. After a period spent in Rome, where he painted mainly landscapes of the Roman countryside with a naturalistic inspiration, he dedicated himself to the study of ancient art and in 1865 oversaw the reorganization of the Bargello Museum in Florence. He subsequently returned to Turin, where from 1891 he held the position of director of the Civic Museum. The purchase and restoration, together with Alfredo D’Andrade, of the castle of Issogne allowed him to expand his skills and collections of medieval art, which led him to collaborate with D’Andrade himself on the construction of the Borgo medieval in Turin (1884).