Castello di Aymavilles
| Castello di Aymavilles | ||
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 Facade of the Castello di Aymaville from the access avenue |
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| Alternative name (s): | Château d'Aymavilles | |
| Creation time : | circa 1287 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | under restoration | |
| Construction: | Tuff and travertine | |
| Place: | Aymavilles | |
| Geographical location | 45 ° 42 '8.6 " N , 7 ° 14' 53.2" E | |
| Height: | 715 m slm | |
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The Castello di Aymavilles is now a characteristic mansion in the Italian municipality of Aymavilles in the Aosta Valley .
The square building was built on a moraine hill and today has four cylindrical corner towers with battlements and consoles .
The house has been undergoing restoration work since 2004, which will make it inaccessible to the public in 2020. However, the work should be completed in the same year.
history
The origins
The hilltop castle sits on a moraine hill that slopes down towards the Dora Baltea , and is therefore in an ideal position for observing and controlling the path through the middle valley, through which the Roman Via delle Gallie (German: Gallierweg ) runs, which connects the cities of Mediolanum (German: Milan ) and Lugdunum (German: Lyon ) and also led to the Cognetal , where marble was quarried.
The first traces of the building come from the year 1287. This differed significantly from today's building; it was more like a permanent house , comparable to the Castello di Écours in La Salle or Castello di La Mothe in Arvier .
The building was also surrounded by a curtain wall modeled on the Castello di Cly or Castello di Graines to defend the population in case of danger.
The Castle of the Challants
In 1354, the Counts of Savoy lent the castle to a branch of the Challants , who later called themselves "Challants-Aymavilles". A floor was added and a donjon was added to the west . Aimone di Challant ordered the construction of a second curtain wall, a moat and a drawbridge .
At the beginning of the 15th century, four towers with battlements and consoles were added at the behest of Amadeo di Challant ; two of them are decorated with Guelfic motifs, two with Ghibelline motifs . These towers, which differ slightly in their dimensions, are connected to one another with a system of galleries and loggias and are provided with tourelles for defense on the curtain wall. These towers, which were also preserved during the successive renovations, should characterize the unique sight of the castle. They were built from tuff and travertine .
A small building with a traditional stone roof, which once housed the stables , has been attached to the main building .
In 1728, at the behest of Baron Joseph-Félix de Challant, the outer fortifications were demolished and the castle, which has practically not been changed since that time, became a mansion with a park, a monumental staircase at the entrance and a large fountain . On behalf of Joseph-Félix de Challant , the baroque loggias were also laid out between the towers. All of these final modifications transformed the building into the rococo style that still prevails today.
On October 18, 1804, Maurice-Phillipe de Challant-Châtillon died in the castle at the age of seven; this was the last male descendant of the Challant family.
The castle in the 19th century
After this event, the castle was successively sold to various private buyers. Count Clemente Asinai Verasis di Castiglione in 1870 were among the first ; he was followed in 1882 by Senator Giovanni Bombrini . During this time, two tablets with the Mother of God and the Archangel Gabriel were discovered on the ceilings of the castle .
The castle as a museum (from the 20th century to today)
In 1970 the Republic of Italy finally bought the castle and in 2019 it became the property of the regional administration. The latter began planning a series of restoration works from 2004 with the aim of preserving the property, creating a museum use and reopening it to the public for tourist purposes. This work officially began in May 2013, was still in progress in May 2019 and is being carried out to overhaul the entire architectural complex, which consists of the following parts: the main building, i.e. the castle, the smaller, rural building called "Grandze", the stud and the large park that was created with the help of terraces.
The complex interventions led to the analysis of the archaeological, architectural and decorative phases, especially on the facades, in order to identify the epochs of the individual structures and especially the older phases of the castle. In this regard, stratigraphic analyzes were carried out on the decorated interior plasters after their consolidation in order to understand the evolution of their individual phases.
In February 2018, the assessore all'Istruzione e Cultura promised the region the end of the work in June of the same year and the presumed reopening of the property for the tourist summer season 2019. In January 2020, however, this schedule was not confirmed, which led to the demand for a final one Caused opening date, which should probably be in the summer of the same year. In the course of March 2018, the property was also opened unscheduled for two days of the FAI in spring. After it became clear that this opening was a remarkable success in terms of visitor numbers, a new opening phase, extended to three weeks, was announced in August of the same year as part of the “Châteaux Ouverts” series of events, which attracted a further 15,000 visitors. After the work has been completed, some of the halls of the castle, through which the tour is supposed to lead the visitors, will house part of the imposing collection of the Académie Saint-Anselme , which is currently not housed anywhere and therefore cannot be visited.
Access avenue
Floor plan of the floor below the battlements level (Carlo Nigra)
Ground floor plan (Carlo Nigra)
Site of Community Importance
The castle and the disused mines of Aymavilles, which extend over an area of 1.6 hectares , have been recognized as a Site of Community Importance with the code SIC IT1205034 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Al via i lavori di restauro del castello di Aymavilles . Aosta Oggi. May 18, 2013. Accessed April 23, 2020.
- ↑ a b Cenni storici . In: Il Castello di Aymavilles . Comune di Aymavilles. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ↑ Castello Aymavilles aprirà estate 2019 . ANSA. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ↑ Châteaux Ouverts, il cantiere evento al castello di Aymavilles . Comune di Aymavilles. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ Castello di Aymavilles, successo di pubblico per il cantiere evento . Aosta Sera. August 28, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ↑ Il castello di Aymavilles. The project for the museum . Comune di Aymavilles for Regione Valle d'Aosta - Assessorato alla cultura. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ↑ Decreto 7 March 2012 (GU della Repubblica Italiana n.79 of 3 April 2012) . Archived from the original on December 28, 2012. Retrieved on April 23, 2020., 5. Updated list of sites of Community importance for the biogeographical, alpine region in Italy within the meaning of EU Directive 92/43 / EC.
- ↑ Siti di interest comunitario della Valle d'Aosta . Valle d'Aosta. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved on April 23, 2020.
swell
- André Zanotto: Castelli valdostani . Musumeci, Quart (AO) 1980 (2002). ISBN = 88-7032-049-9.
- Mauro Minola, Beppe Ronco: Valle d'Aosta. Castelli e fortificazioni . Macchione, Varese 2002. ISBN = 88-8340-116-6. P. 45 ff.
- Carlo Nigra: Torri e castelli e case forti del Piemonte dal 1000 al secolo XVI. La Valle d'Aosta . Musumeci, Quart (AO) 1974. pp. 82-86 and Figures 183-184.
- Il castello di Aymavilles: indagini, progetti, interventi . In: Bollettino. No. 1 . Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta. Pp. 110-124. 2003/2004. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- Francesco Corni: Valle d'Aosta medievale . Tipografia Testolin, Sarre 2005.
Web links
- Il castello di Aymavilles . Regione autonoma Valle d'Aosta. Archived from the original on July 17, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- Il castello di Aymavilles . Comune di Aymavilles. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved on April 23, 2020.