A medieval fortress transformed into a stately home, with an architectural evolution that reflects the history of the Aosta Valley and the powerful Challant family, today open to the public as a museum and place of culture
A sort of nineteenth-century, welcoming house-museum, the castle tells inside two stories of collecting, that of Vittorio Cacherano Osasco della Rocca, the last descendant of the noble Challant family, and that, born almost at the same time, of the Academy of Sant’Anselmo, a savage society with local historical memories at heart.
The main internal attractions of the Castello di Aymavilles are developed on a museum route divided into four levels, which combines history, collecting and architecture:
Ground floor
you can visit the rooms that tell the story of the castle and the families that owned it, in particular the Challants and the Bombrinis, with historical testimonies and period objects.
First floor
it houses the nineteenth-century collections of Vittorio Cacherano Osasco della Rocca, the last descendant of the Challant family, and of the Accademia di Sant’Anselmo, a cultural society dedicated to local historical memory. The walls are decorated with paintings and frescoes in an eclectic style, ranging from neo-Gothic to neo-Egyptian, with naturalistic and mythological motifs.
Second floor
includes the rooms of Madama Giovane, with personal relics and furnishings, and continues the display of the nineteenth-century collections.
Third floor (attic)
features a room with models and illustrative panels that show the evolutionary phases of the castle and the extraordinary wooden ceiling, which dates back to the end of the Middle Ages, is dedicated to the history of the castle, told through wooden models and films on a large screen.
In this space you can recognize the fifteenth-century structure, with four circular towers that are inserted into the corners of the original central keep.
You can also see remains of the battlements, the corbels – that is, the elements that support the protruding parts of the towers, the machicolations and some windows with side seats.
Among the most significant works, we note the Noussan legacy, of which the sculpture of Saint Catherine is part: a high relief in chalky alabaster perhaps from the Sarriod chapel in the parish church of Introd, it comes from the workshop of the most important sculptor of the Aosta Valley fifteenth century, Stefano Mossettaz.
Gardens and Park
The Castle is surrounded by a large Park with well-kept Gardens, a variety of plants and flowers, Fountains and Paths.
Location Castello 1
Aymavilles
Val d’Aosta – Italy
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