Famous for its Renaissance appearance and for the wonderful frescoes that decorate its interior. This refined stately home, linked to the powerful Challant family, offers a journey through time between Art, History and Medieval and 19th-century suggestions
It preserves a rich Renaissance and late Gothic pictorial cycle, with Frescoes of great documentary and artistic value, as well as original architectural and decorative elements that make it one of the most important testimonies of Alpine art and noble life between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
The external appearance, austere and modest, preserves centuries of history and splendid masterpieces inside.
From the Courtyard with the coats of arms, to the Lunettes of the atrium, from the Verdant Garden to the Pomegranate Fountain, it is a triumph of late Gothic art, in the period of transition between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance.
Here everything speaks of the prior Giorgio di Challant, refined patron of the architectural modifications and decorations that make the castle a unicum of the medieval figurative culture of the Alpine territories.
In fact, we owe to his impulse, for example, the Frescoes of the Chapel, the Salle Basse and the Courtyard.
Unlike other castles in the Aosta Valley with a decidedly military appearance, Issogne presents itself as a refined noble residence, the result of the transformations desired by Ibleto and especially by Giorgio di Challant between the 14th and 15th centuries.
The internal courtyard, with the famous Pomegranate Fountain in wrought iron and the frescoed lunettes depicting scenes of daily life, represents a rare example of late Gothic and Renaissance painting in the Alps.
The interior spaces, such as the Baronial Hall, the Chapel with the Gothic Altar and the Countess’ Room, are richly decorated and furnished, testifying to the refined taste of the Challants.
The visit experience is enriched by multimedia supports and by a setting that allows you to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the time.
Baronial Hall
on the ground floor, with a stone fireplace decorated with the Challant coat of arms flanked by a lion and a griffin, paintings on the wooden beams of the ceiling and frescoes on the walls depicting Landscapes, Hunting Scenes and the Judgement of Paris
Lunettes
The castle portico is decorated with representations of everyday scenes placed inside Lunettes, painted with lively images rich in details of life and work in the Middle Ages: the Guard Corps with soldiers, the Baker’s and Butcher’s Shops, the Tailor’s, the Apothecary’s, the Grocer’s and the Market are depicted.
Melognano Fountain
An octagonal stone basin collects the water that comes out of the spouts. The tree is made of iron and once its trunk must have been gilded while oak leaves and pomegranate fruits were colored green and red.
Courtyard Frescoes
a composition of coats of arms, a sort of memorial and invitation to the younger generations to follow the example of their ancestors, called, in fact, Miroir pour les enfants de Challant.
Chapel on the first floor
richly decorated with frescoes on the ogival vaults and walls, it contains a Gothic altar in carved and gilded wood with a Flemish triptych. The decorations illustrate Sacred scenes such as the Nativity, the Annunciation, the Marriage of the Virgin, the Adoration of the Magi, the Circumcision and the Massacre of the Innocents
Oratorio di Giorgio di Challant
on the second floor, with frescoes including a scene of the Crucifixion in which Giorgio di Challant is also depicted kneeling at the foot of the cross, as well as Deposition in the Sepulchre and Pietà . Here you can also find furniture in a flowery Gothic style assembled with antique panels
The room called “of the king of France” and the room of the “Knights of Saint Maurice”
with coffered ceilings decorated respectively with lilies and the Shield of the French dynasty of Valois, and the Cross of the order of Saint Maurice
Historical graffiti
engraved on the walls of the castle, especially in the portico, corridors and around doors and windows, with writings in French, Latin and Italian that bear witness to the daily life, thoughts and emotions of visitors, servants and castellans over the centuries
The legend of the Countess of Challant
A story of betrayal, passion and revenge that gave birth to a ghost that, according to tradition, continues to haunt the castle of Issogne
Known as the Countess of Challant, Bianca Maria Scapardone was a young woman who married Renato di Challant, who took her with him to his castle of Issogne.
Passion, betrayal and hatred filled every moment of her life, irremediably marked by shadows that carried her until her death.
Lovers meant nothing to her except another piece of her life full of vices. They were almost always killed or alternatively repudiated and sent away without the possibility of replying.
But this attitude backfired when her secret stories were discovered and, accused of treason, she was sentenced to death by beheading in Milan.
It is said that since then her ghost has resided in the castle of Issogne and, restless, wanders through the rooms making a few brief appearances just to disturb the visitors.
Some of these stories are even more macabre and tell of a woman who walks holding her head in her hands!
Many visitors every day long to glimpse even for a moment the mysterious beauty of the Countess of Challant.
Castle Square
Issogne
Val d’Aosta – Italy
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