Photo: Hagai Agmon-Snir حچاي اچمون-سنير חגי אגמון-שניר, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
At a glance
- Type
- Castle
- Style
- Gothic architecture
- Elevation
- 390 m above sea level
- Protection
- Italian national heritage
- Coordinates
- 45°40′11″ N, 7°41′44″ E
- Address
- Localité Le Château, 1 - 11029 Verrès (AO)
History and description
Verrès Castle (Italian: Castello di Verrès, French: Château de Verrès) is a fortified 14th-century castle in Verrès, in the lower Aosta Valley, in north-western Italy. It has been called one of the most impressive buildings from the Middle Ages in the area. Built as a military fortress by Yblet de Challant in the fourteenth century, it was one of the first examples of a castle constructed as a single structure rather than as a series of buildings enclosed in a circuit wall.
The castle stands on a rocky promontory on the opposite side of the Dora Baltea from Issogne Castle. The castle dominates the town of Verrès and the access to the Val d'Ayas. From the outside it looks like an austere cube, thirty metres long on each side and practically free of decorative elements.
History
The earliest documents attesting the existence of a castle at Verrès (in the possession of the De Verretio family) date to 1287. At that time, control of the area was contested between the Bishop of Aosta and some noble families which were vassals of the Counts of Savoy: the De Turrilia, De Arnado, and De Verretio. The De Verretio in particular had harsh disagreements with the prelate over the years, which culminated in the episcopal casaforte in Issogne in 1333.
Around the middle of the fourteenth century, the De Verretio became extinct without leaving any possible heirs, so their property came into the possession of the counts of Savoy, who granted it to Yblet de Challant in 1372 as a reward for diverse duties discharged in their service.
Yblet entirely rebuilt the castle, producing a fortress that was practically impenetrable and distinct from most of the contemporary castles of the region which consisted of a number of buildings surrounded by a circuit wall.
An inscription in Latin on the architrave of the first gate as one approaches from the plain records the completion of Yblet's work in 1390:
At the death of Yblet in 1409, the castle and his other possessions passed to his son François de Challant, who received the title of first Count of Challant from Amadeus VIII the Duke of Savoy on 15 August 1424. Verrès remained one of his most important properties, but he did not alter the castle in any substantial way.
François died in 1442 without male heirs and left his property to his daughters Marguerite and Catherine. Verrès castle thus became the centre of an inheritance dispute between Catherine who claimed it for herself under her father's will and some of her male cousins, including Jacques de Challant who contested the will on the basis of the Salic law, which did not permit succession in the female line.
Verrès became one of the strongholds of Catherine and her husband Pierre Sarriod d'Introd during this conflict with Jacques. Legend has it that, on Trinity Sunday 1449 Catherine and Pierre left the castle and went down to the town square, where they danced with the youth of the town. This noticeably increased the populace's support for Catherine and is reenacted annually in the historic carnival of Verrès. …
Description
The castle, constructed as a military fortress, sits atop a rocky premonitory above the river Évançon and dominates the town of Verrès. In addition to being difficult to reach and easy to defend, its position allowed it to control the country below: the central valley and the Val d'Ayas pass which was then an important route. In the eighteenth century, the Aostan historian Jean-Baptiste de Tillier wrote about the castle, saying:
Externally it is an austere cube, about 30 metres on each side, surrounded at the base by a circuit wall which encircles the entire summit of the peak. The walls (some more than 2.5 metres thick) are surmounted by a continuous line of battlements, which hide a storm drain, with Medieval mullioned and Renaissance cruciformed windows.
Every element of the castle seems to have been considered to make the fortress more defensible. The visitor ascends on foot along a mule track, which winds up the mountain until it reaches the entrance in the circuit wall, accessed by means of a drawbridge. This entrance, like the external circuit wall, was built by Rene de Challant in the sixteenth century, as indicated by the inscription above the gate.
As the visitor follows the path up to the castle, the fortress is always on his right side. This was another defensive feature, since the soldiers of the time usually carried their shield in their left hand and therefore the right side was exposed.
Beyond the gate there is a vestibule with a curving stairway to make it difficult to use a battering ram. In this space there is a door which leads to an inner compound, once occupied by the stables, and to the ramparts -not accessible to visitors.
Above the vestibule is the gatehouse, on top of the dungeon and now the location of the ticket office for visitors to the manor. Its front is the true entrance to the castle – a round arch and a pointed arch with a wooden door reinforced by nails in imitation of the original door.
Inside the castle is a square entrance hall roofed by a vault of pointed arches, a further defensive element. Several loopholes look into the hall and there is a trapdoor in the ceiling from which it would have been possible to bombard any invaders trapped inside. …
Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Full article: «Verrès Castle».
Timeline
- 1287First mention
- 1372Construction
- 1536Increase
- 1894Architectural reconstruction
- 1994Architectural reconstruction
Events and people from Wikidata (CC0).
Photos
Getting there
VerrèsTrain, nearest
1.2 km as the crow flies
Verrès CastleLocalité Le Château, 1 - 11029 Verrès (AO)
Aeroporto regionale della Valle d'Aosta / Aéroport régional de la Vallée d'Aoste26.5 km
Distances are as the crow flies, not walking or driving.
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Nearby
See on the mapMore castles in Aosta Valley
Frequently asked questions
Where is Verrès Castle?
Verrès Castle is in Verrès (Aosta Valley), Italy. Address: Localité Le Château, 1 - 11029 Verrès (AO). GPS coordinates: 45.66981, 7.69561.
What are the opening hours of Verrès Castle?
According to OpenStreetMap the opening hours are: Oct-Mar Tu-Su 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00; Apr-Sep Tu-Su 09:00-19:00; Dec 25 off; Jan 01 off || Jul-Aug Mo 09:00-19:00 "aperto i lunedì di luglio e agosto". Always check the official website before your visit.
What else is there to see near Verrès Castle?
Nearby you’ll find: Prevostura di Saint-Gilles (300 m away), Issogne Castle (1.9 km away), Ville fortified house and tower (3.9 km away).
Sources and licences
Text. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Data. Wikidata (CC0); opening hours and contacts OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Photos. Wikimedia Commons, author and licence on every image.
Credits for the 9 photos
- CastelloDiVerresJuly292023 04 — Hagai Agmon-Snir حچاي اچمون-سنير חגי אגמון-שניר, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 02C2820001-MIBAC Castello di Verrès — Mostacchi.angelo, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 02C2820001-MIBAC Verrès — Mostacchi.angelo, CC BY-SA 4.0
- A04.M08.Verres3 — Giuditta, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Castello di Verrès - Aosta — Tacchy81, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Castello di Verrès - DPP 75 — Alexis.courthoud, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Castello di Verrès - Verrès — Happy1984, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Castello di Verrès 01 — Crivellari Giulio, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Castello di verres 1 — Vincenzo venditti, CC BY-SA 3.0
Updated 28 October 2026. All sources and licences