Heritage: Chambave, Châtillon, Fénis, Verrayes

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Parish church of San Lorenzo

Churches and shrines  -  Chambave

At the beginning of the 12th century, the parish was dependant on the monastery of Fruttuaria, which transferred it in 1182, along with all the other assets held by the abbey in Valle d’Aosta, to the parish of St-Gilles di Verrès. This two-fold conventual dependency lies at the origin of the term “prior” a name by which the parish of Chambave is still called today.
From 1781 the parish of Chambave came under the jurisdiction of the bishop.
The first historical mention of the church of Chambave, perhaps during the era of its construction, dates back to 1100. Nothing remains of the primitive Romanesque building, except for the lower section of the bell tower, which dates back to the mid 12th century.
In 1744, the parishioners of Chambave decided to rebuild their church from its foundations. The works were entrusted to the architect Giovanni Ferro of Alagna and were completed in 1748.
Merit for the definitive appearance of the church is owing to the prior Favre, who extended the nave in 1889, knocking down the portico in front and building two new side chapels. The church then took on the form and dimensions that it still has today.
Among the ancient objects of liturgical use collected in the parochial museum, the following are worth mentioning: the silver-plated copper reliquary in the shape of a case, offered in the 16th century by the commendatory prior J.-L. Vuillet, of the Lords of St-Pierre; four silver leaf crosses (15th - 16th centuries), the photographic reproductions of the illuminated pages of two precious liturgical books, an antiphonary from the 15th century and a gradual from the 16th century, used by the famous prior of the Collegiate of S. Orso, George of Challant. Nowadays these precious codexes are housed, with the other liturgical books from Valle d’Aosta, at the Library of the Bishop’s Seminary of Aosta.

As the crowning glory of the whole, there is a precious oil painting of the Guardian Angel (end of the 17th century). The sacristy on the other hand houses a reliquary bust of Saint Lawrence (19th century), the work of the sculptor Molino.

    0166/46113

Roman Bridge

Roman architecture  -  Châtillon

The Roman bridge that sits above the Marmore river used to rest on the rocky banks of the river and had a single round arch with a span of approximately 15 metres.

Built with square blocks of local stone, on the surface of which, the small cavities for anchoring the pincers with which the stone elements were lifted, are still clearly visible.

According De Tillier, a historian from Valle d’Aosta, its destruction came about during the withdrawal of the French troops in 1691, but we find it represented fully in a print, which may be idealised, dating from 1797.

Gamba Castle

Castles and towers  -  Châtillon

Free admission for all couples on Friday 14 February 2025.

The castle is closed from 18 March to 13 June 2025.

Buy your tickets on-line

The castle
Built at the beginning of the 1900s following the plans of the engineer Carlo Saroldi, it was commissioned by Charles Maurice Gamba, husband of Angélique d‘Entrèves, daughter of Count Christin d‘Entrèves. Since 1982 it has become property of the Aosta Valley Autonomous Region.

The contemporary and modern art collection
After a complex restoration work, today the castle houses an exhibition route distributed through 13 rooms, with over 150 works of art such as paintings, sculptures, installations, drawings and photographs belonging to a regional collection dating back from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day.
Beside the works of the maestros of the 20th century, including the sculptures of Martini, Mastroianni, Manzù, Arnaldo and Giò Pomodoro, and paintings by Casorati, De Pisis, Carrà and Guttuso, the collection documents Italian figurative art production from the second half of the century up to contemporary research exponents, such as Schifano, Baruchello, Rama and Mainolfi.
A vast and varied selection of works testifies to the movements that have animated the Italian art scene over the past 25 years: for example, the exhibition hosts representations of informal art, geometric abstraction, transavantgarde and pop art. Particular importance is given to the Aosta Valley region through the activity of local artists, or those active in the Valley, on regional commission.

For visitors seeking both learning and distraction, the exhibition offers a series of services designed to bring different categories of visitors (families, adults, schools, children, young people) closer to modern and contemporary art through workshop activities, guided tours and events.

The park
The castle is surrounded by an english park, which stretches over a total area of 54.000 square metres, and which hosts about 150 trees of different species. Inside there are three monumental trees: the geant Sequoia from California, the Bald cypress and the Honey Locust.

    0166.563252
    info.castellogamba@regione.vda.it

Ussel Castle

Castles and towers  -  Châtillon

Standing on a marked, rocky promontory, Ussel castle overlooks the south side of the residential area of Châtillon.
Built by Ebalo II of Challant in the mid 14th century (the date is confirmed by dendrochronological analyses), the castle marks a change in Valdostan fortress architecture. Indeed, it is the first single body castle in Val d’Aosta, which was the last evolutionary phase of medieval castles, and marked the passage between the contemporary castle in Fénis and the rigid forms in Verrès.

Having passed on numerous occasions from the Challants to the Savoys and vice versa, the castle then became a prison, until it was abandoned completely. Having bought the castle from the Passerin d’Entrèves family, heirs to the Challants, in 1983 Baron Marcel Bich donated it to the regional authority, which restored it and earmarked it as an exhibition centre.

With a large, rectangular layout, the castle is an example of good masonry that culminates in blind arcades, not present on the north side, and beautiful mullioned windows each different from the next, with floral and geometric decorations. The corners on the south side (facing the mountain) have two round towers, which were originally connected via a walkway, protected by battlements. The south side also has an entrance with an overhead machicolation. The north side, which faces Châtillon, has two four-sided towers, with a slightly projecting watchtower in between, a symbolic element of feudal power. The monumental fireplaces remain, with large shelves placed on the same ascending line, exploiting a single flue, and traces of the stairs and floor divisions.

Before restoration work began, the manor was mostly in ruins; however a precise archaeological assessment enabled identification and reintegration of the missing parts. A picturesque walkway was added along the battlement, where visitors can admire the Châtillon plain and its historic buildings.

    (+39) 3669531109
    castellodiussel@gmail.com

Fénis Castle

Castles and towers  -  Fénis

Free admission for all couples on Friday 14 February 2025.

The castle is closed from 9th to 12th June 2025.

Buy your tickets on-line

Unlike the other castles built for military and defence purposes Fénis castle is not situated on the top of a promontory, but rather on a small knoll. In contrast with the defence structure, its function was only to be the prestigious seat of the Challant family.
The castle’s many towers, which display surprising architectural harmony, were added by Aimone of Challant towards the middle of the 14th century to the existing turret, which had already been the residence of Viscount Gottfried II in the previous century. The castle belonged to the Fénis branch of the lords of Challant until 1716, when it was sold to Count Baldassarre Castellar of Saluzzo Paesana. There followed a period in which the castle’s prestigious function was dropped and it was turned into a rural dwelling: the ground-floor rooms were turned into stables, while the first floor was used a barn. It was purchased by Alfredo d’Andrade in 1895, who started restoration works that were completed by Mesturino. Today the castle is owned by the Regional Council.

It has a pentagonal layout; the corners have round towers, with the exception of the south-west corner, which has a massive tower and the southern corner with a square-plan tower. The keep is enclosed in a double perimeter wall, with watchtowers linked by a walkway. Access to the castle is gained via a square tower, which had a portcullis protecting the hallway in case of attack. The inner courtyard has a semicircular staircase and wooden balcony, and is decorated with exquisite frescoes featuring Saint George killing the dragon and a group of wisemen and prophets, holding scrolls on which you can see proverbs and moral maxims in ancient French, while the eastern wall features the Annunciation of Saint Christopher. These can be attributed to a painter close to the school of Jaquerio and date back to around 1425-30. On the ground floor it is possible to visit the weaponry, the dining room, the pantry, kitchen. study and tax-collector’s office. Worthy of note on the first floor are the chapel with a reception hall and the counts’ rooms.

    (+39) 0165764263

MAV - Traditional Aosta Valley Craft Museum

Museums  -  Fénis

The MAV is a museum devoted to traditional Valle d’Aosta craftsmanship.

The traditional craftsmanship of Valle d’Aosta carries within it a wealth of symbols, knowledge, identity values and extraordinary creative processes of which the objects created are the custodians.
Inaugurated in Fénis in 2009, this year, 2022, the museum has a renewed exhibition itinerary that takes visitors on an ideal journey which starts from memory and then continues with matter, form, gesture and beauty.

The first section presents the exhibition of the entire Brocherel Collection whose objects are told as producers of memory.
The second room, devoted to matter, instead investigates the close relationship between the territory and craftsmanship, between that craftsmanship and the matter it shapes.
The path then continues on with form, that which shapes objects in the encounter between craftsmanship and matter, and gesture, that is the pure manual skills of which the artisans are bearers, a unique intangible heritage of knowledge, without which there would be no object.
The new exhibition ends with a look at the avant-garde, at the ability of creation to go beyond its own time, and at beauty, as an individual, objective or social aesthetic judgment of a set of objects.

Agreement between the castle of Fenis and the MAV:
from 1 August the Museum ticket can be purchased at the price of € 2.00, in combination with the castle ticket, at the castle ticket office, the tourist offices or at the MIDA ticket office and is valid only on the day of issue.

*In order to keep up to date with all the initiatives and activities of the MAV, visit the web site indicated in the “Contacts” section.

*In order to learn more about craftmanship in Valle d’Aosta “read more”: /it/cultura/tradizione/artigianato

    (+39) 01651835120
    museo@lartisana.vda.it

Parish church of San Martino and Santa Barbara

Churches and shrines  -  Verrayes

The first historical document that mentions the parish of Verrayes is a Papal Bull by Pope Lucius III dated 7 May 1187, where the parishes depending on the collegiate of Sant’Orso in Aosta are listed.
The current church of Verrayes was built at the end of the 19th century. On the walls of the bell tower the traces of the old church are still visible. It was a very low building with three naves divided by large brick pillars. The main nave was covered in cross vaults divided up by protruding ribs. This Church was demolished in 1873 and was replaced by the current church, the plans for which are by the architect Lancia. In 1877 the building was completed and was consecrated by Monsignor Duc on 11th November 1887.

    0166/43120