Castello di La Mothe
| Castello di La Mothe | ||
|---|---|---|
 Ruins of the Castello de La Mothe |
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| Creation time : | before 1250 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone | |
| Place: | Arvier | |
| Geographical location | 45 ° 42 '9.6 " N , 7 ° 10' 5.6" E | |
| Height: | 752 m slm | |
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The Castello di La Mothe is the ruin of a hilltop castle in the municipality of Arvier in the Aosta Valley .
It is one of the two castles in the municipality; the other is the Castello di Montmayeur , some distance from the village at the confluence of the Valgrisenche . Therefore, the Castello di La Mothe was sometimes called "Castello d'Arvier", u. a. by the architect Carlo Nigra . Today, however, this name is often associated with the Castello di Montmayeur.
After the purchase of the Castello di La Mothe by the autonomous region of Aosta Valley and restoration work, some of the castle ruins have been open to the public since 2020.
history
The history of the Castello di La Mothe is largely unknown.
The building complex was first mentioned in the feudal honorary documents from 1287, in which Aimone de Arviero took an oath. For the historian Jean-Baptiste de Tillier , the castle was named after the Savoy nobleman Aymar de la Mothe , secretary of Count Philip of Savoy , who was to marry the heiress of the De Arverio family at the end of the 13th century . La Mothe had the castle restored and gave it its own name, by which it is commonly known today.
In the years 1306 or 1409 the castle fell to the D'Avises , who kept it as the "Maison de Plaisance" (German: pleasure palace). It was later leased to the aristocratic Sarriod de la Tour family and the Lostan family. The castle was neglected by these owners and was therefore already a ruin at the beginning of the 18th century, which was used by farmers and shepherds as a barn or stable.
After centuries of neglect, the building was acquired by the region, which carried out important restoration work in 2006 and secured the building. Despite the completion of the work, the site will still be in a state of decay in 2020 and is still waiting for a new use.
description
Today the castle consists of a tower with a square floor plan, on which the empty ruins of a building are leaning, whose facade, according to André Zanotto, was built in the 14th-15th centuries . Century and is therefore the result of a renovation after the creation. There are also some traces of a round tower and other old walls.
Inside you come across the remains of the spiral staircase , which collapsed at some point and is no longer visible today, and that of a chimney, consisting of the two pillars and the associated cross-connection, which formed part of the collapsed first floor.
The restorers have even found traces of frescoes , which suggests the earlier existence of a chapel , as it existed in other castles in the neighboring communities.
Due to its massive appearance, the architect Bruno Orlandosi compared the Castello de La Mothe with the "Domus Episcopalis" of the Castello di Issogne , the tower of the Casaforte Villette in Cogne and the Torre Colin in Villeneuve .
Construction phases
Archaeological investigations recently carried out led to a distinction between five construction phases:
First construction phase (before 1250)
The first phase of construction of the castle is difficult to understand. Today nothing or very little of the original building, which was first mentioned in a document from 1287, is preserved, even if dendrological analyzes of the few fragments that have survived to this day lead to a dating to the years 1236–1237.
The main remnants from this period turned out to be small and difficult to recognize: Most of them are support timbers that formed window ribs, lintels and ceiling beams. In general, a large part of these materials was reused in later renovations, although it must be noted that ceramic, glass or metal artifacts from this period are almost completely missing. It cannot be ruled out that these materials still exist in the castle, even though they are covered by some of the walls: the remains of some “doubled-up” walls are significant evidence of this. The more plausible hypothesis about the shape of this original building can be derived from the morphological analysis of the slope, which, given the height of the various rock terraces, suggests an expansion on several levels, which was then maintained in the subsequent construction phases with the function of restraint.
Second construction phase (14th century - after 1376)
This phase includes a large part of the parts of the building that can still be seen today because their state of preservation is better than that of other parts of the complex: the later renovations have practically no longer changed the original shape. The new building covers a floor area of 13 meters × 8 meters and rests directly on the rock floor below; it rose to a height of 14 meters and housed four floors inside.
Due to its size and location, it can be assumed that it was used for residential purposes rather than defense: it is not by chance that it is the only part of the castle without loopholes . As far as the external defenses are concerned, these cannot be delimited, if not generally as a development of that time. It cannot be ruled out that the wall ring, which can still be seen today, must be assigned chronologically to a somewhat later period.
Third construction phase (15th century)
The most striking part of the castle that has survived from this period consists of the walls and their remains. These follow for the most part the edge of the rocky spur on which the whole building was built and probably limit the point, think of the one that the dungeon was built.
On the northeast side you can clearly see a wall that is leaning against and what is left of a window with a seat can still be seen, even if this is barely recognizable today as its upper part is completely missing. The more likely assumption is that it is the remains of a tower, but today it is very ruinous and therefore only partial and difficult to see. Unfortunately, precisely because of the extremely precarious state in which the finds have come down to our time, neither the archaeological excavations nor the subsequent analyzes made it possible to understand the height, the ground plan or the original function of this building.
Another building in the middle of the castle dates from the same period and appears to have been a continuation of the previously mentioned structure. This is also only a ruin, which only consists of the lower part of its boundary wall. However, these two buildings were most likely connected with closed corridors made of wood or masonry, which were no longer preserved or rebuilt and later demolished. Such a determination seems very difficult, however, because there are only a few significant remains, as the building structure was severely distorted during the renovation in the 16th century.
Fourth construction phase (16th century)
During this time, important renovations were made, be it in terms of the building volume or in terms of the restoration of old, decorative details of individual architectural elements. In particular, a new core building was created that acted as a link between the existing buildings and consequently had to adapt to their floor plan. At the same time, it became necessary to build a free-standing spiral staircase on the south side (now only visible in overview after its collapse), which connected the upper and lower floors and the old with the new.
Through further analysis it was found that the new building was mainly built upwards and that its interior was divided into three floors, of which only wooden grooves can be detected today through the dendrology. These rooms most likely belonged to the piano nobile , which can be seen from the remains of a fireplace of particularly decorative design, which is still floating in the air today because of the collapse of the attic.
In order to connect the rooms and to reduce the height differences, the floor in the old parts of the building was lowered by about one meter and a new opening was created on the side of the room with the chimney. The ceiling beams must have been visible: The dendrology allows a dating of all beams to around 1514 and this is also homogeneous across the wood types. The wood of the floors, on the other hand, although covered by the latter, is made up of reused elements. In the meantime, while an expansion of the wall ring to the east was being built, a new entrance portal was also built in the north, which is characterized by a rich ornamentation with sculptures.
The owners at that time, the D'Avises , most likely had a sophisticated artistic taste, which, in addition to the already mentioned ornamentation with sculptures, was also shown by a ring of frescoes, the only one that can be found in the castle and the naturalistic themes treated that have come down to us.
Fifth construction phase (19th century)
Paradoxically, according to archaeologists, this construction phase cannot actually be considered as such. The reason for this view lies mainly in the fact that in this phase, unlike in the other phases, nothing was added to the building, but, on the contrary, it led to the decay and collapse of the previously constructed parts of the building.
The most important reason for this was the abandonment of the building complex, which was converted for agricultural purposes, which caused the increasing deterioration to its present-day, rather precarious state.
The first sign of decay is attested with the collapse of the eastern part in 1740. This incision is still clearly visible today in one of the partially gutted structures. In addition, some inner and outer walls were built on the ground floor of the large tower during subsequent renovations, either for terracing or subdividing the stables. Canals or water tanks for watering the animals have even been found in the same rooms.
Fortunately, these activities, which particularly affected the structure of the building, were mostly concentrated on this floor, while the upper parts of the building were largely preserved.
On the outside there was an important defense structure that followed the relief on which the entire building complex was erected. The development of the village changed the original structure, but it can be assumed that the development of the inhabited center followed the guidelines set by this earlier construction. However, it cannot be ruled out that the neighboring parish church had a purely castral function, as can also be seen in the Castello di Cly or the Castello di Graines .
The castle today
After centuries of neglect, the municipality of Arvier and the Aosta Valley region decided to restore the ruin with the aim of making it more touristy and stopping its deterioration, which was deteriorating. The first measures were carried out in May 2006 and ended about a year later.
While these measures were being carried out, the Sovraintendenza di Beni Culturali (German: Department of Cultural Property) of the autonomous region of Aosta Valley carried out archaeological analyzes.
The castle ruins can be visited again since 2020. The adjacent area is also often used to host music and theater performances.
literature
- André Zanotto: Castelli valdostani . Musumeci, Quart (1980) 2002 ISBN 88-7032-049-9 . Pp. 59-60.
- Mauro Minola, Beppe Ronco: Valle d'Aosta. Castelli e fortificazioni . Macchione, Varese 2002. ISBN 88-8340-116-6 . P. 53.
- Carlo Nigra: Torri e castelli e case forti del Piemonte dal 1000 al secolo XVI. La Valle d'Aosta . Musumeci, Quart 1974. pp. 88-89.
- Bruno Orlandoni: Architettura in Valle d'Aosta. Il Romanico e il Gotico. Dalla costruzione della cattedrale ottoniana alle committenze di Ibleto e Bonifacio di Challant 1000–1420 . Turin 1995.
Web links
- Gaetano De Gattis, Fulvio Bovet, Mauro Cortellazzo: Bollettino della Sopraintendenza per i beni e le attività culturali . In: Il Castello di La Mothe in Comune di Arvier . 2006. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- Castello di La Mothe . Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- Benvenuto ad Arvier . Comune di Arvier. Archived from the original on December 6, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Castelli di Arvier - Castello di La Mothe (Capoluogo) . In: Beni Storico Artistici . Comune di Arvier. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ↑ a b c André Zanotto: Castelli valdostani . Musumeci, Quart (1980) 2002. ISBN 88-7032-049-9 . P. 60.
- ^ Castello di La Mothe . Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ↑ The Lostans are also known for the Maison Lostan in Aosta .
- ↑ La Maison Lostan: indagini, progetti, interventi . In: Bollettino della Soprintendenza per i Beni Culturali. No. 1 (2003/2004) . Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta. Pp. 53-101. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ^ Bruno Orlandoni: Architettura in Valle d'Aosta. Il Romanico e il Gotico. Dalla costruzione della cattedrale ottoniana alle committenze di Ibleto e Bonifacio di Challant 1000–1420 . Turin 1995. p. 144 in Mauro Cortellazzo, Renato Perinetti: Georges de Challant, priore illuminato. Giornate di celebrazione del V centenario della morte 1509–2009 . In: L'evoluzione del Castello di Issogne prima di Georges de Challant . Regione Autonoma della Valle d'Aosta. S. 171. 2009. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ↑ a b c d e f Gaetano De Gattis, Fulvio Bovet, Mauro Cortellazzo: Il Castello di La Mothe in Comune di Arvier . 2006. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2020.