Description of the attraction
Villars Dora Castle is a medieval feudal residence located on a small rocky ledge in the village of the same name. It is one of the best-preserved castles in the Italian Val di Susa. Already in the first centuries of our era, on the site where the castle stands today, there was a small settlement - this is evidenced by the finds of the Roman period (oil lamps and vessels for incense), made in the 19th century. And in 1287, the first documentary mentions of the building appeared, which was known as the Castrum Villaris Almexia. It consisted of three towers, interconnected by a stone wall built using a special technology - fragments of it can be seen today.
The strategic location of the Villars Dora castle has made it the theater of several historical events. They say that at the foot of the castle hill took place one of the decisive battles between Constantine and Massenzio for the possession of the city of Susa. Later, the Franks and Lombards met here in battles.
Between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries, the castle was rebuilt in the Gothic style at the initiative of the local feudal family of Provenas - then some of the ancient buildings were demolished and new ones were erected in their place. The southwestern part became the central zone of the castle: it consisted of three buildings - the Palachium (the old southern tower), the cylindrical tower and the wing of Marguerite de Rotaris. In the 17th century, on the site of the northern fortress tower, the so-called Ka'Bianca - the White House was built, but already in 1691 it, together with the "armory", was destroyed by French troops. And in the 19th century, a garden was laid out, supported by a series of powerful arcades.
In the first decade of the 20th century, at the initiative of Count Antoniella d'Oulks, large-scale restoration work began in the castle, during which the central part of the castle was returned to its original medieval appearance. Among the works carried out at that time were the removal of the surface layer of the 17-19th centuries, the restoration of Venetian windows and the careful reconstruction of architectural elements lost in the past.
Today, Villars Dora Castle is still owned by the Counts of Antonielli d'Ulx and is used as a private residence.
