Torre dei Salassi
| Torre dei Salassi | ||
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 Torre dei Salassi with the chapel "Saint-Georges-en Châtelair" |
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| Alternative name (s): | Tour de la Ville de Cordèle, Casaforte di Pompiod | |
| Creation time : | 13-15 century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone | |
| Place: | Jovençan | |
| Geographical location | 45 ° 42 '47 " N , 7 ° 15' 49.1" E | |
| Height: | 617 m slm | |
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The Torre dei Salassi or Tour de la Ville de Cordèle or the Casaforte di Pompiod (in French : Maison forte de Pompiod ) is a dilapidated, medieval tower in the Pompoid district of the Jovençan municipality in the Aosta Valley . It is located on regional road 20 between Jovençan and Aymavilles .
location
The tower is surrounded by almond trees on the small rocky promontory of Châtelair , which slopes down towards the Dora Baltea . The site on which it is located is in decline, despite the fact that it has been the subject of restoration work and a restoration plan has been drawn up. There are numerous piles of stones that testify that buildings have collapsed on the site, and some of the walls still show the actual dimensions of the complex. On the top of the rocky promontory, next to a high voltage pylon, there are ruins of another old tower with a square floor plan, which was cylindrical on the inside, probably the last remnant of the Castello di Jovençan . The "Galleria Les Crêtes" of the A5 autostrada extends below the ledge .
history
This area of Jovençan is said to be the place where the old Salasser capital , Cordelia (in French: Cordèle), without any historical support or confirming repetitions. But both the Abbot Amé Gorret and the Baron Claude Bich and others support this hypothesis. Even if it is likely that the first settlements in the area date back to Roman times, it cannot be ruled out that the Salasser people might have left some traces here. As for the tower, it was probably built before or in the 13th century, although according to the castle scientist of the Aosta Valley, André Zanotto , this was not before the 14th or 15th century. It does not necessarily come from the same time as the keep of the Castello di Jovençan, which was razed to the ground by the Green Count . The chapel, on the other hand, was the castle chapel, which was rebuilt after the plague of 1630 and is now called "Chapelle de Saint-Georges-en-Châtelair". In-depth studies of the site are currently lacking.
description
The Torre dei Salassi today consists only of its enclosing walls , whereas the roof has collapsed; because of the collapse of its floors, the tower is filled with rubble inside. A latrine ( toilet bay ) has been preserved on the west side , while on the east side there is an access door on the ground floor level, which was rebuilt after the tower was built. There are also many loopholes in the walls, which Carlo Nigra writes as being of remarkable size in relation to the loopholes typical of the era, and the bridging holes are still visible, i.e. the support openings into which the wooden beams for the scaffolding are inserted that supported the three floors that made up the building. A fireplace was probably built in in the basement.
Gallery images
The access door to the tower is on the ground floor and has been converted.
North elevation of the tower
Detail of a window arch near the roof
Detail of the latrine
Individual references and comments
- ↑ The other name of the area (outcrop of Ville de Cordèle ) refers to the tower.
- ↑ a b c Carlo Nigra: Torri e castelli e case forti del Piemonte dal 1000 al secolo XVI. La Valle d'Aosta . Musumeci, Quart 1974. p. 103; Figures 224-225.
- ↑ André Zanotto: Castelli valdostani . Musumeci, Quart (1980) 2002. ISBN 88-7032-049-9 . Pp. 108-109.
swell
- Carlo Nigra: Torri e castelli e case forti del Piemonte dal 1000 al secolo XVI. La Valle d'Aosta . Musumeci, Quart 1974. p. 103; Figures 224-225.
- Jean-Baptiste de Tillier: Nobiliaire du Duché d'Aoste . Pp. 303–305, quoted in: Sandro Pépellin, Andreino Colliard (editor): La noblesse, Jovençan , published on XXVII. Concours Cerlogne, Jovençan, 8. – 10. May 1989, Musumeci, Quart 1989. p. 40.
- Amé Gorret, Claude Bich: Guide Illustré de la Vallée d'Aoste . Turin 1877, p. 252.
- Jean-Baptiste de Tillier: Genealogy of the familles Nobles du Duché d'Aoste , quoted in Carlo Nigra: Torri e castelli e case forti del Piemonte dal 1000 al secolo XVI. La Valle d'Aosta . Musumeci, Quart 1974. p. 103.
- Cesare Ratti, Francesco Casanova: Guida della Valle d'Aosta . 1887, quoted in Carlo Nigra: Torri e castelli e case forti del Piemonte dal 1000 al secolo XVI. La Valle d'Aosta . Musumeci, Quart 1974. p. 103.
- Robert Berton: Tour de la Cité de Cordèle in Les Châteaux du Val d'Aoste . 12th edition. Rigois, Turin 1956. p. 26.
