Castello di Tour de Villa
| Castello di Tour de Villa | ||
|---|---|---|
 East facade of the Castello di Tour de Villa |
||
| Alternative name (s): | Torre dei Poveri | |
| Creation time : | around 1191 | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | restored | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone | |
| Place: | Gressan | |
| Geographical location | 45 ° 42 '52.8 " N , 7 ° 16' 58.7" E | |
| Height: | 660 m | |
|
||
The Castello di Tour de Villa (in French : Château de Tour de Ville ), also known for a long time as Torre dei Poveri (in French: Tour des Pauvres ), is a private castle in the municipality of Gressan in the Aosta Valley .
It is located on a small granite rock on the gentle slope on which the settlement also stands, west of the Côte de Gargantua nature reserve , the lateral moraine of the glacier of the Pila basin at the end of the impluvium of the Gressan brook .
It is a little-known medieval castle - also in comparison with other castles in the Aosta Valley - also because, in contrast to other castles such as the Castello di Fénis or the Castallo di Issogne in the region, it is less imposing, but nevertheless in an excellent state of preservation . It is inhabited by the owners and not open to the public (as of 2011). It can already be seen from the regional road from Gressan (SR 20) and is located in the apple groves and vineyards that characterize the fertile municipality; you can reach it if you take the road to the district of the same name; From there, after a short hike, the Torre de la Plantaz towards the valley and the Chiesa della Madelaine with a frescoed facade from 1453 to the east can be easily reached.
description
.png)
The tower castle , which originally only consisted of a tower with a square floor plan from the 12th century, was built from blocks of tuff and granite - slate - stone . The lack of windows, which subsequently led to darkness inside the castle, was compensated for by the installation of loopholes ; the original entrance door ( high entrance ), at the top of the north side, which can be reached via a double, movable wooden staircase, is 7 meters higher than the current one, which Monsignor Duc had installed, and shows the same style as the one on the neighboring Torre de la Plantaz; Above the door you can also notice the original consoles that supported the "sleeper", i.e. the horizontal wooden beam to distribute the load on the building, on which a wooden weir bay was supported, as can be seen from the wall openings for the supports. The tower ended with a flat lead roof, a kind of belvedere over the plain.
The tower was surrounded by a “short, crenellated wall”.
When the imperative for defense ceased to exist, the tower castle was expanded in the 15th century with a semicircular structure, which was used for residential purposes on three floors and is now two very different structures: the one from the 12th century and the one from the 15th. Century.
The Castello della Tour de Villa was in ruins for a long time. In the time of decay, the north-western part was lost; in its place there is now a courtyard. During a restoration, it was raised and given new battlements. As a result, Monsignor Duc, Bishop of Aosta , wanted to convert it into a summer residence and had serious renovations carried out: The bishop had parts of the surrounding wall torn down in order to replace them with a crenellated parapet, he had a door built in at street level while he had two Barred double windows in the style of the Aosta Valley on the first floor of the building, which leans against the tower, have been preserved.
inside rooms
Inside the tower has three floors, one of which serves as a wooden barn and can be reached via a spiral staircase .
[[Datie: Xilo - Aubert - Tour des Pauvres.JPG | miniature | The "Tour des Pauvres a Gressan" and the Chiesa della Madelaine in a woodcut (Édouard Aubert, 1860)]] In the Renaissance block of flats, however, is the monumental reception room , a chapel with frescoes and paintings attributed to the Artaris and a “coat of arms room ” with the series of coats of arms of the Savoy and the noble families of the Aosta Valley, as can be seen in the courtyard of the Castello di Issogne.
history
According to François-Gabriel Frutaz , the castle was taken over by the historian Giuseppe Giacosa , from the Seigneurs de Villa au Gressan (or De la Tour de Villa ), who had it built around 1191. Of the 220 noble families of the Aosta Valley, the De la Tour de Villas were among the oldest: in fact, the De Villa family is one of the 10 that we know for sure that they existed between 1000 and 1200. We also know that in the 13th century this family held the post of Vice-Dominus of Aosta.
The construction date of the castle cannot actually be certain, even if it was built in the 12th century.
"Le date corrispondono ai primi atti dove le famiglie sono menzionate, ma trattandosi di tali tempi, so scarsi di notizie e di documenti, è da credere che queste fossero assai più antiche." ( Eng . : The dates agree with the first actions where the families have been mentioned, but there is also a time when the records and documents are so rare that they are believed to be old enough.)
Perhaps for this reason the legend is told that the rule of Villa belonged to a certain Gondulfu de la Tour , the father of Sant'Anselmo , who was also connected to Gressan through the tower of the same name.
According to history, the La Tour de Villa bequeathed it to the Aymonier family and subsequently it fell to the Carrels . The name "Tour des Pauvres" is derived from the subsequent ownership by the parish of Saint Laurent in Aosta , which passed it on to the "cashier of the poor". After a period of decline, the property fell to a certain Vincent Carlin in 1864 , who gave it to the Bishop of Aosta, Joseph-Auguste Duc , in 1885 , who had it restored and converted into his own summer residence. The castle belonged to the diocese of Aosta until 1921 and then to Baron Gerbore from the noble family from Saint-Nicolas .
The castle has belonged to the Arruga family from Milan since 1945 .
The castle, which was privately owned until 2011, has been converted into accommodation and houses temporary exhibitions; In 2012, part of the Festa della Cultura events of the municipality of Gressan took place there.
Individual references and comments
- ↑ So it is also called z. B. the architect Carlo Nigra . (1856-1942).
- ↑ a b c d Jules Brocherel: Castelli valdostani . Augusta Praetoria, Aosta 1930. p. 26.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Castello della Tour de Villa . In: Territoria e cultura - caseforti e castelli . Comune di Gressan. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- ↑ a b c Carlo Nigra: Guida ai castelli della Val d'Aosta . CdN, 2001. ISBN 88-509-0050-3 . Pp. 101-102.
- ↑ The polygonal, almost circular surrounding wall with the old keep in the middle perhaps shows aesthetic echoes of the Castello di Introd .
- ↑ a b c Mauro Minola, Beppe Ronco: Valle d'Aosta. Castelli e fortificazioni . Macchione, Varese 2002. ISBN 88-8340-116-6 . P. 45.
- ↑ This is how André Zanotto defined it, who doubted the effectiveness of this and other integrative restorations, children of the eclectic culture of the 19th century, which spoiled the authenticity of the castle buildings.
- ↑ André Zanotto: Castelli valdostani . Musumeci, Quart (1980) 2002. ISBN 88-7032-049-9 . P. 31.
- ↑ FG Frutaz: Relazione sopra la Paria nella Valle d'Aosta . Civelli, Rome 1894., cited in
- ^ Giuseppe Giacosa: I castelli valdostani . LF Cogliati, Milan 1905. pp. 57-58.
- ↑ La Nostra Storia . In: Castello Tour de Villa . Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- ^ Sabato 9 giugno Giornata della cultura al castello tour de Villa . Associazione Artisti Valdostani. Archived from the original on February 25, 2015. Retrieved on August 20, 2020.
swell
- Giuseppe Giacosa: I castelli valdostani . LF Cogliati. 1905. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- Carlo Nigra: Guida ai castelli della Val d'Aosta . CdN, 2001. ISBN 88-509-0050-3 .
- Mauro Minola, Beppe Ronco: Valle d'Aosta. Castelli e fortificazioni . Macchione, Varese 2002. ISBN 88-8340-116-6 . P. 45.
- André Zanotto: Castelli valdostani . Musumeci, Quart (1980) 2002. ISBN 88-7032-049-9 .
- Jules Brocherel: Castelli valdostani . Augusta Praetoria, Aosta 1930.
Web links
- Official website of the Castello di Tour de Villa . Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- Castello della Tour de Villa . In: Territoria e cultura - caseforti e castelli . Comune di Gressan. Retrieved August 20, 2020.