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THE HISTORY
The Origins This castle can be found at the bottom of a gentle, green slope. Owing to the location of the building, one can imagine that it might once have been a Roman villa. However, differing from the castle of Issogne, there are no historical sources that might confirm this hypothesis. Nothing is known about the construction or the development of the castle prior to the thirteenth century. In fact, the first mention of the ‘castrum Fenitii’ goes back to 1242 when it belonged to the Challant family, viscounts of Aosta.
The Construction Between 1320 and 1420, under the seignories of Aimone and Bonifacio I of Challant, the castle’s most important development took place. Following building works ordered by Aimone, the plan of the castle’s nuclear centre attained its present-day pentagonal form. This said, the inside of the castle was then very different: the courtyard, much larger than that of today, was overhung by a long wooden balcony and the second floor of the castle was completely lacking. The external walls were also added, though without the southern tower, which was constructed at a later time. In 1392 Bonifacio planned a new building campaign: on the ground floor a prison was built, whilst the internal courtyard was endowed with a semi-circular-stepped flight of stairs, surrounded by walk-ways. Moreover, between 1414 and 1420, he commissioned to Giacomo Jaquerio the frescoes in the chapel and in the internal courtyard. It is not clear even today whether the artist took part in the actual painting of the frescoes, though it is nonetheless certain that the authors belonged to the Jaquerian stable. In this epoch, it is probable that the castle was a real court, surrounded by allotments, a vineyard and a garden for the amusement of the Lord and his guests.
The Decline The death of Bonifacio I brought about the economic decline of the Challant family, a fact which inevitably made its mark on the castle’s future development. In fact, if one excludes the seventeenth-century painting of the Challant family tree, no further works of particular note were carried out. Il castello rimase nelle mani dei Challant fino al 1716 quando Georges François fu costretto a venderlo alla famiglia Saluzzo Paesana per far fronte ai debiti contratti dal padre. Da quel momento in poi, per circa due secoli, il castello fu utilizzato come casa colonica: le sale al pianterreno furono trasformate in stalle, mentre al primo piano vi erano i fienili. Anche la cappella con i suoi preziosi dipinti non fece eccezione e venne adibita a fienile. Dopo diversi passaggi di proprietà, il 3 Settembre 1895 il castello fu acquistato dallo Stato. Le condizioni del castello erano spaventose: pavimenti e soffitti erano pericolanti o crollati, diverse zone del tetto così come alcuni tratti della cinta muraria erano fatiscenti, almeno una torre era diroccata.
The Rebirth
The activities were carried out in two main phases: The D’Andrade-Bertea-Seglie campaign. A causa della scarsità dei fondi stanziati, vennero realizzati solo interventi di messa in sicurezza dell'edificio: furono rinforzate le mura pericolanti, ricostruiti le parti di tetto fatiscenti, restaurati serramenti e solai, installati parafulmini sulle torri, costruita la nuova strada di accesso al castello a Est. I lavori - conclusisi nel 1920 - posero fine al degrado del castello. The De Vecchi-Mesturino campaign. Because of the lack of appropriate funds, only security interventions were brought about on the castle: the endangered walls were reinforced, plus parts of the dilapidated roof. Window and door frames and the garrets were restored, lightning conductors were installed on the towers, and a road was built which gave access to the castle from the East. These works - completed in 1920 - brought the castle’s deterioration to an end. |
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