Graines Castle, Brusson, Italy

Graines Castle, Brusson, Italy. Photo: Giuseppe Bozzola/Wikimedia Commons

The Castle of Graines is a castle in Val d'Ayas, located near the village with the same name in the municipality of Brusson, Aosta Valley, northern Italy.

It occupies the summit of a rocky spur which commands Brusson and most of the Val d'Ayas. In medieval times, it communicated through flag or mirror messages with the nearby Bonot Tower and the Villa Castle in Challand-Saint-Victor.

According to a legend, a large treasure lies buried under the castle.

The fief of Graines is documented since 515, when King Sigismund of Burgundy donated it to the newly formed Abbey of St. Maurice. The castle was perhaps built in the 11th century by its monks, who built the Romanesque chapel which is still visible in the interior.

In 1263 the abbey sold the fief to Godefroi of Challant, a faithful vassal of the House of Savoy, whose family held the castle until the 18th century. The castle was a stronghold of Catherine of Challant in her struggle for the family's inheritance.

When the Challant disappeared in the 19th century, the castle was bought by Passerin d'Entrèves family, who later sold it to the commune of Brusson. The castle was restored in the early 20th century by Alfredo d'Andrade and Giuseppe Giacosa.

The castle had the typical layout of Aosta Valley early medieval castles. It had an irregular line of walls measuring c. 80 x 50 m, which housed a series of structures such as the large donjon (square tower) and a small chapel, the only ones remaining now.

The donjon is square in plan, with a side of more than 5.5 m. It was the castle's keep and the residence of the castellan or the lord. The entrance was at some five metres from the ground, and could be accessed only by a ladder which could be removed during sieges. A wing was later added to enlarge the tower.

The Romanesque chapel, dedicated to St. Martin, has a single nave with a length of eight metres, ending in a semicircular apse. The ceiling had crumbled down.

Source

• www.wikipedia.org

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi (The hunting residence of Stupinigi), Italy

The Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy in northern Italy, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.

Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy

Gran Paradiso National Park, is an Italian national park in the Graian Alps, between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions.

Castello della Manta, Italy

Castello della Manta is a castle at Manta near Saluzzo, Province of Cuneo, region of Piedmont, in northern Italy.

The Cave of Saint Andrew

Tradition says that two thousand years ago Apostle Andrew arrived in Dacia. And that for a while the Apostle and his disciples found shalter in a cave. Nearby Ion Corvin a village in a Canstanta county, there is a cave considered to be the first Christian halidom in Romania.

Fénis Castle (Castello di Fénis), Fénis, Italy

Fénis Castle (Castello di Fénis, Château de Fénis) is an Italian medieval castle located in the town of Fénis. It is one of the most famous castles in Aosta Valley, and for its architecture and its many towers and battlemented walls has become one of the major tourist attractions of the region.

Arian Baptistery, Ravenna, Italy

The Arian Baptistry in Ravenna, Italy is a Christian baptismal building that was erected by the Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great between the end of the 5th century and the beginning of the 6th century A.D., at the same time as the Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo.