Issogne Castle

From the outside, Issogne Castle does not look like much. It has neither battlemented towers nor a rock to stand on. It sits in the middle of the village, on the valley floor, facing Verrès. But once through the door, you enter a Renaissance residence designed for comfortable living and for entertaining.

From bishops to the Challant family

In the 12th century it was a fortified house belonging to the Bishop of Aosta. In 1379 the bishop entrusted it to Ibleto de Challant, who began to embellish it. The great change came between about 1490 and 1509. Georges de Challant, prior and guardian of the family’s young heirs, joined the buildings together and turned them into a horseshoe-shaped palace around a courtyard.

The pomegranate fountain

In the middle of the courtyard stands an octagonal fountain. It carries a wrought-iron tree: a pomegranate whose leaves are those of an oak. It dates from around 1502. The pomegranate stands for fertility and the unity of the family, the oak for strength and ancient lineage. It is thought to have been made for the wedding of Philibert de Challant.

The market under the portico

Under the courtyard portico, the painted lunettes show everyday life around 1500: the bakery, the butcher’s, the fruit and vegetable market, the tailor, the apothecary, the guardroom. These frescoes are attributed to a certain Master Colin. All over the castle there are also graffiti scratched into the walls, in French, Latin or Italian.

Saved by a painter

After the death of René de Challant in 1565, the castle passed to other families, then was abandoned. In 1872, the Turin painter Vittorio Avondo bought it at auction. He restored and furnished it, then gave it to the State in 1907. Today it belongs to the Region.

Visiting

Issogne Castle
Piazza Castello
11020 Issogne (AO)
+39 0125 929 373

Guided tours in groups of no more than 25 people, Tuesday to Sunday (also on Mondays in July and August). Booking online is recommended (MiDA Ticket).