Château De Fénis

FOCUS

EVENTS

Medieval triumph

Fénis Castle, situated on a small promontory lacking in natural defences, is certainly one of the most famous castles in the Aosta Valley thanks, above all, to its external appearance. Towers, crenellated walls, arrow loops and corbels make this structure the classic image of a Medieval castle: an imposing defensive wall which actually protects and surrounds an elegant stately residence.

The castle houses some of the most famous Gothic-style pictorial cycles in Northern Italy, commissioned by the powerful Challant family, lords of the fiefdom.

The building was abandoned for a long time, during which it was even used as a farm, until the second half of the 19th century, when it was bought by the architect Alfredo d’Andrade on behalf of the State, and the parts which were in the worst condition were restored in an attempt to save the castle from imminent ruin.

Information
Castello di Fénis
Località Chez-Sapin, 1
FENIS
tel. 0165764263
e-mail: beniculturali@regione.vda.it

Opening times
October – March: 10.00 – 13.00 / 14.00 – 17.00
April – September: 9.00 – 19.00
Closed on 25th December and 1st January
Closed on Mondays except in July, August and public holidays

ALERTS

Please note that on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th April 2025, on the occasion of the “Castello in Fiera” event, Fénis Castle will be open only to visitors who physically present themselves at the ticket office; Online bookings will be closed, even for groups with a guide. On Saturday 5 April the visiting hours will be extended until 8.00 pm, last visiting hour at 7.30 pm.
On Monday 28th April 2025 the regional castles and the MegaMuseum will be open for the long weekend between 25th April and 1st May
Closed from 9 to 12 June 2025

HOW TO GET THERE
From the A5 Torino-Aosta motorway, take the exit at Nus and at the junction with the SR 13 road follow the road signs for “Comune di Fénis”. Continue along the SR 13 for 0.5km until you arrive at the town centre. The Castle is well signposted and easy to spot.

TICKETS
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BROCHURE

A BRIEF HISTORY

Fènis Castle is made up of a well-structured complex of towers and buildings. Its almost thousand-year history started between the 12th and 13th centuries and ran parallel to the affairs of the Challant family. As the role and power of the dynasty grew, so did the castle: Aymon de Challant planned and carried out works in around 1340 and 1370, making the structure pentagonal-shaped. Subsequently, his son Boniface I intervened once more to transform the building into a residence worthy of his role as a high-ranking official of the State of Savoy. One floor was added to the central body as were new windows and wooden ceilings; stone portals were built and the courtyard was redesigned, making the view from the semi-circular staircase spectacular. A fenced garden was constructed outside. From 1415-1420, the very same Boniface I completed the redesign of the castle, commissioning the pictorial decoration of the courtyard and the chapel. The gradual abandonment of the castle began in the following century, just as the importance of the Challant family started to decline. In 1868, when the Portuguese architect Alfredo d’Andrade visited it for the first time, it was in a state of serious disrepair; in his role as Director of the Regional Office for the preservation of monuments in Piedmont and Liguria, d’Andrade bought the castle and began the first restoration works. Further supplementary works, carried out between 1936 and 1942, led to the reconstruction of the fortified walls and the creation of an entrance on the southern side; at the same time the castle became the location of the Museum of Furniture of the Aosta Valley, housing Alpine-style furniture bought on the antiques market.

https://youtu.be/jvWXb1_S_dY

PROTAGONISTS

BONIFACE II
ALFREDO D’ANDRADE

BONIFACE II

In the 15th century Fénis saw many workers employed in various renovation projects. Some important modifications were carried out at the behest of Boniface I while other subsequent ones were ordered by his son, Boniface II, who received the feuds of Fénis and Montbreton from his father. In the mid-15th century, Boniface II commissioned Giacomino da Ivrea, a painter who was extremely active in Aosta Valley, to paint the southern wall of the central courtyard. The heraldic frieze dating from the 1440s in the southern gallery can also be attributed to him, with the coats of arms of those who commissioned the works and the noble families connected to them by family, hereditary, political and religious ties.

ALFREDO D’ANDRADE

Alfredo d’Andrade was born in Lisbon in 1839 and was educated in Genoa, where he attended the Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti. He met Vittorio Avondo, with whom he established a long-lasting friendship, in Geneva. He moved to Italy, where he spent his time with intellectuals and artists, including painters from the Rivara school. In Aosta Valley, around 1868, he started the first surveys at Issogne, Fénis and Verrès to study and uncover all the technical and construction details of their Medieval architecture. The fascination during this period for ancient buildings was formalised at an institutional level with the creation in 1891 of the Piedmont and Liguria Regional Office for Monument Conservation; D’Andrade thus took on various institutional roles which allowed him to participate in the restoration projects of many historic buildings. It is also worth remembering his efforts in planning the Borgo Medivale di Torino in 1884, where several monuments of the Aosta Valley were recreated, providing important inspiration for the Medieval revival. D’Andrade died in Genoa in 1915.

FOCUS

THE CHAPEL

The pictorial decoration of Fénis Castle, carried out at the behest of Boniface I de Challant in the first quarter of the 15th century, follows ...[..]

THE FIREPLACES

Stately homes almost always had at least one fireplace: this served to heat the rooms and, in the kitchens, was used during food preparation. The ...[..]

FURNISHINGS

In the 1930s the fascist rhetoric led to a surge in interest in the Middles Ages on account of identity politics. A key player in ...[..]

THE COURTYARD FRESCOES

The cycle of frescoes in the courtyard of the castle welcome the visitor with the depiction of Saint George on horseback slaying the dragon; it ...[..]