Queen Margherita with a Monte Rosa backdrop

 

When is it open: see the "for further information" section at the bottom of the page

 

Where is it: Castello district – Municipality of Gressoney-Saint-Jean

 

What's not to be missed: the very personal furnishings in the queen's room

 

Why?...Because it's worth it: it was the elected residence of Margherita of Savoy

Savoy Castle was build between 1899 and 1904. Queen Margherita, widow of Umberto I, lived there for many summers up to 1925, the year before she died. The architect Stramucci, who designed the Neo-Baroque decor in the Royal Palace in Turin and the Quirinale in Rome, designed a castle in eclectic style, as was customary for France and the Savoys. The manor has a main nucleus in a rectangular shape with five cuspidate towers; externally it is covered in grey stone from the quarries in
Gressoney, Gaby and Vert. It is divided over three floors: the ground floor, with living quarters, the noble floor, with the royal apartments and the second floor (not open to visitors), reserved for gentlemen of the court; the cellars are located underground. Only a few pieces of the original furniture remains; the other furniture on show comes from Villa Margherita; the original pieces include the tapestries in linen and cotton, decorated with a chiné effect. The ornamental paintings are by Cussetti, who later worked in the Royal Palace in Turin. The coffered ceilings, the wooden panels and the furniture are by Dellera.
The kitchens were located in a building a short distance away and were connected to the castle by an underground decauville railway. Other dependances include: Villa Belvedere, used to host guests and the royal police force, and the house known as Romitaggio Carducci, dedicated to the queen's poet, admirer and singer. The foot of the manor hosts a rocky garden full of Alpine, botanical species.