The Castello di Issogne is one of the most famous castles in the Aosta Valley and is known for its Renaissance style that contrasts with the nearby, more austere Castello di Verrès. The castle has a remarkable courtyard with a fountain in the shape of a pomegranate tree and a colorful portico, a rare example of medieval Alpine painting, with frescoes depicting scenes from everyday life in the late Middle Ages. The castle's history dates back to a papal bull in 1151, and it has a rich history that includes its transformation from an episcopal fortress into an elegant princely residence. The castle is open to visitors and offers a unique look at the culture and architecture of the region.
History Initially the domain of the bishops of Aosta, the property subsequently passed into the hands of the Challant family. Over time the existing buildings were enlarged and united, until the radical transformation which took place between around 1490 and 1510 by Giorgio di Challant, prior of Sant'Orso, who made it a sumptuous residence for his cousin Margherita de La Chambre and his son Filiberto. It was then that the castle took on its current appearance, becoming a single horseshoe-shaped palace, overlooking a large courtyard and an Italian garden, on whose high surrounding wall important people and heroes were painted; the portico on the ground floor was adorned with a series of frescoed lunettes with scenes of daily life and representations of shops, while in the center of the courtyard stood the famous wrought iron fountain known as the Pomegranate fountain, a symbol of prosperity. Also in that period, many internal rooms were decorated with frescoes, both in the representative areas, such as the Hall of Justice or the Chapel, and in the more private rooms, including the oratories of Margherita de La Chambre or Giorgio di Challant. After the glories of the sixteenth century, the residence began to gradually decline and in 1872 it was sold at public auction: purchased by the Turin painter Vittorio Avondo, it became the subject of a careful restoration campaign that restored its ancient splendor. Donated to the State in 1907, today the castle belongs to the Autonomous Region of Valle d'Aosta and features some elements of the original furniture and other furnishings redone at the end of the nineteenth century, which together with numerous domestic objects recreate the setting late fifteenth century commissioned by Avondo.
Visit Upon entering the palace you find yourself in the courtyard, surrounded by buildings on whose walls the coats of arms of the Challant family and the families related to it are portrayed. After passing the pomegranate fountain, we continue towards the entrance hall: the frescoes in the lunettes of the portico represent the daily life of the village with remarkable realism, depicting the guardhouse, the butcher's and baker's shop, the fruit and vegetable market, the tailor, apothecary and grocer. Afterwards, we proceed to visit the interior of the castle:
on the ground floor, the dining room, the kitchen, and the baronial room, where you can admire a beautiful stone fireplace bearing the Challant coat of arms on the hood flanked by a lion and a griffin, paintings on the wooden beams of the ceiling and the walls frescoed with landscapes, hunting scenes and the Judgment of Paris; on the first floor, the chapel, with finely decorated ogive vaults, with frescoes on the walls and with the Gothic altar in carved and gilded wood adorned with a Flemish triptych and the Countess' room, with the oratory decorated with paintings; on the second floor, the room called "of the King of France", with a coffered ceiling decorated with lilies and a fireplace which bears the shield of the French Valois dynasty on the hood, and the one called "Knights of St. Maurice" with the beautiful coffered ceiling on which the cross of this order is painted. The ruins of the dovecote still stand a short distance from the castle. Avondo's apartment Since 2018, an emotional installation dedicated to Vittorio Avondo, illustrious owner of the Issogne manor, enhances and enriches the castle's offering by highlighting its late nineteenth-century events with a series of panels, multimedia solutions and elements of poetic suggestion. Born in Turin in 1836 and dedicated to painting from a young age, Avondo is considered one of the best representatives of 19th century Piedmontese landscape painting. After a period living in Rome, which he spent mainly painting naturalist-inspired landscapes of the Lazio countryside, he dedicated himself to the study of ancient art and in 1865 he oversaw the reorganization of the Bargello museum in Florence. He subsequently returned to Turin, where in 1891 he took on the role of director of the Civic Museum. The purchase and restoration, together with Alfredo D'Andrade, of the castle of Issogne, allowed him to expand his skills and collections of medieval art, which led him to collaborate with D'Andrade himself on the construction of the medieval village in Turin (1884).