Savoy Castle
Savoy Castle
Queen Margaret Castle stands at the foot of Ranzola hill, in the place known as “Belvedere”, as it dominates the whole of the valley as far as the Lyskamm glacier.
The building was erected between 1899 (the first stone was laid on 24 August) and 1904. In 1981 it was purchased by Val d’Aosta Regional Council.
The architect Emilio Stramucci, who designed the neo-Baroque decorations for Palazzo Reale in Turin and for the Quirinale in Rome, designed the mediaeval-style castle, described as “15th-century Lombard style”, quite frequent in France and Savoy, the homelands of the reigning sovereigns. It consists of a central rectangular body, with four cusp-roofed towers, each different from the others. The exteriors is covered in grey stone from the quarries of Chiappey in Gressoney, Gaby and Vert. The castle is on three floors: the ground floor, with living quarters, the noble floor, with the royal apartments and the second floor (not open to visitors), reserved for gentlemen of the court; the cellars are located underground. Only a few pieces of the original furniture remain; the other furniture on show comes from Villa Margherita, property of the Beck Peccoz Barons, in which the Queen stayed before the manor’s construction; the original pieces include the tapestries in linen and cotton, decorated with a chiné effect. The ornamental pictures are the work of the young painter and restorer Carlo Cussetti, who later worked on the new wing of Palazzo Reale in Turin. The mediaeval-inspired coffered ceilings, wooden panels and furniture are by the Turin wood carver Dellera, who supplied the Royal House.
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