Finial of rounded bricks at corner of stone wall surrounding the grounds of the castle at Issogne, Valle d’Aosta, Italy. The Castello di Issogne was a medieval stronghold converted late 1400s to an elegant Renaissance residence, manor house or palace. It was home to the Counts of Challant from the early 1400s until their male line died out in the early 1800s.
Castello di Issogne, Issogne, Valle d’Aosta, Italy: one of the distinctive brick finials that stand at the angles of the stone wall surrounding the walls of the castle which is located on the right bank of the Dora Baltea in the centre of Issogne. Originally the property of the bishops of Aosta, the castle was subsequently the home of Giorgio di Challant (Georges de Challant) who, between 1490 and 1510, transformed it into an elegant residence for his cousin Margaret de La Chambre and her son Filiberto. After a series of restorations, the manor house now presents a Gothic-Renaissance appearance. The structure is horse-shoe shaped and overlooks a large courtyard and Italian garden. Centrally located in the courtyard is the Fontana del Melograno (Pomegranate Fountain), surmounted by a finely wrought iron sculpture representing the tree that symbolises good fortune and prosperity, as well as the Challant family. In 1802, the last count of Challant, Giulio Giacinto, died, and the Challant family was extinguished. The Castle, already abandoned for some years, fell into decay and its furniture was removed. In 1872 the owner of the Castle, Baron Marius de Vautheleret, was forced to sell it at auction. It was acquired by the Turin painter Vittorio Avondo, who restored it, furnishing it with some of its original furniture bought back from the antique market, and with copies of furniture of the period. Avondo donated the Castle to the Italian state in 1907; in 1948 it passed to the Aosta Valley region.
Size: 2533px × 3800px
Location: Castello di Issogne, Castle, Issogne, Val d’Aosta, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1100s, 12th, 1300s, 1400s, 14th, 15th, alpine, alps, alterations, aosta, architectural, architecture, bishop, bishops, brick, bricks, brickwork, building, bull, castello, castle, century, challant, challants, coursed, , decoration, decorative, detail, di, earliest, exterior, external, family, feature, finial, gothic, house, issogne, italian, italy, kerr, manor, medieval, mention, needle, origins, ornament, ornamental, palace, papal, pinnacle, pointed, pyramid, renaissance, residence, spire, style, technique, terence, transformation, transformed, turret, val, valle, valley, vallé, village, ’aosta, ’aoste
