Description of the attraction
The royal castle of Sarre in the town of the same name in the Italian region of Val d'Aosta was for many years the summer residence of the Savoy dynasty. Today it has been turned into a museum and is open to tourists. The trophy gallery and the Hall of Fame deserve special attention.
The castle was built in 1710 on the ruins of a fortress, the first mention of which dates back to the middle of the 13th century. Several times it changed hands until it was bought by the King of Italy Vittorio Emmanuele II, on whose orders the building was restored and used as a hunting residence during royal visits to Val d'Aosta. By order of the first king of Italy, new stables and a tower were also built in the castle, and the inside of the room was completely modified. The caretaker of Milan's Palazzo Reale was appointed responsible for furnishing the castle.
Vittorio Emmanuele's heir, Umberto I, also used Castello Sarre as a hunting residence. In the last years of his reign, he commissioned a complete restoration of the interiors of the castle. It was then that stuffed alpine mountain goats and chamois appeared here. Queen Maria José stayed in the same castle, even after the fall of the monarchy. And in 1989, Castello Sarre became the property of the government of the autonomous region of Val d'Aosta.
The castle is a long structure with a square tower in the center. The restoration work carried out here at the end of the 20th century allowed preserving the double essence of the castle - as an alpine residence and a museum, reminiscent of the once mighty dynasty of Savoy. Access to the first floor is open to everyone today. The rooms are arranged in such a way as to acquaint tourists with the expositions of the museum as part of guided tours that start every half hour. Here you can see portraits of members of the Savoyard dynasty (in the Reception Hall and the Cabinet of Prints), learn about the royal hunting grounds in the Alps and, in fact, get acquainted with the history of the castle itself. The rooms on the upper floors are furnished with antique furniture found here during the restoration. On the second floor, visitors can explore the royal chambers with a huge game room, a gallery of hunting trophies and personal apartments, which, by the way, were opened to the public for the first time. The third floor is entirely devoted to the history of the Savoy dynasty in the 20th century - here are presented the fates of Vittorio Emmanuele III, Elena di Montenegro, Umberto II and Maria José, who were closely connected with the history of Val d'Aosta.
