Description of the attraction
The Savoy Castle, located at the foot of the Ranzola hill in the town of Gressoney-Saint-Jean in the Italian region of Val d'Aosta and also known as the Castle of Queen Margaret, was built between 1899 and 1904. It dominates the entire valley up to the Liskamm glacier. It was in this castle that Queen Margaret, the widow of Umberto I, lived for many years until her death in 1926.
The architect Emilio Stramucci, who was the author of the neo-baroque décor of the Palazzo Reale in Turin and the Quirinal in Rome, designed the castle in a medieval style, described as the “Lombard style of the 15th century,” which was typical of the Savoyard dynasty and French architecture of that period. The castle consisted of a rectangular main building with four pointed towers, distinct from each other, and on the outside was lined with gray stone from the quarries of Gressoney, Gabi and Werth. Inside, it was divided into three floors - on the first there were living quarters, on the second - the apartments of the royal family, and the third, now closed to the public, was intended for members of the royal court. There were wine cellars and warehouses underground. Unfortunately, only a few fragments of the castle's original furnishings have survived to this day, including linen and cotton tapestries. Also noteworthy are the ornaments by Carlo Cussetti, who later worked on the decoration of the Palazzo Reale in Turin, coffered ceilings imitating medieval wood panels and Deller's furniture. Most of the current furnishings came from Villa Margherita, where the queen lived before the castle was built.
The main entrance, located on the ground floor, leads into a spacious hall with columns and painted coffered ceilings, and from there you can enter other rooms. On one side are the playrooms and lounges, connected to a semicircular veranda overlooking the valley. On the other side is the dining room with richly decorated walls, fireplace and parchment wood paneling. The so-called "service entrance" in the octagonal tower in the northwest wing of the castle is also made in the neo-Gothic style.
An elegant wooden staircase with griffins and eagles leads to the royal chambers. Queen Margaret's bedroom was in the best position, with an excellent view of Monte Rosa and the entire valley. In the next room lived the Crown Prince Umberto, and on the opposite side were the apartments of the Marquise Pes di Villamarina, the Queen's lady-in-waiting.
The castle kitchen was located in a separate building slightly to the side and was connected to the main building by an underground narrow-gauge road. Other offices included the Villa Belvedere, where guests of the castle and the royal guards stayed, and the small house where the royal poet and singer Romitajo Carducci lived. A rock garden with alpine plants was laid out at the foot of the Savoy Castle.
