Bosses Castle

On the road to the Great St Bernard Pass, in the hamlet of Saint-Léonard, a large square building rises above the houses. This is Bosses Castle. No battlements, no towers: it is a fortified house, massive and plain, typical of the earliest lordly residences in the valley.

The lords of Bosses

In the 12th century, the Bosses family held these lands as a fief from the lords of Quart. At the end of the 13th century, it came into conflict with the counts of Savoy. As a punishment, the castle’s tower was pulled down on the orders of the bailiff of Aosta. In 1320, Thomas de Bosses ceded his property to Count Amadeus V. The family later recovered its castle and kept it until 1742. It then passed to the Savin family, and later to the Massea and the Gallone.

A block of stone with mullioned windows

The present building dates mainly from the 15th century. It has three floors on an almost square plan. The main façade is pierced by fine windows with stone mullions and transoms. Of the old watchtower, to the east, only the foundations remain. On the north side, a large walled-up opening suggests that the building was also used for farming.

A cultural centre for the Great St Bernard

The Region bought the castle in 1984. It was restored in 1998 and 1999 through a European project between Italy and Switzerland. The outside keeps its 15th-century appearance. The inside, however, has been completely rebuilt, with modern rooms for exhibitions, lectures and meetings. Today the castle serves as a cultural centre devoted to the Great St Bernard area, on both sides of the pass.

How to see it

Château de Bosses
Frazione Saint-Léonard, 10
11010 Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses (AO)
Municipality: +39 0165 780 821 · info@comune.saintrhemyenbosses.ao.it

It can be seen from outside all year round, beside the road to the pass. The inside opens in summer and over the Christmas and New Year holidays, for exhibitions and markets: check with the municipality.