Castello di Savoia
“Sit patriae aurea quaevis” (“Every hour be golden for the homeland”), are the words written on the facade of the villa. Bewitched by the landscape of the Gressoney valley and the charm of Monte Rosa, it was Queen Margherita of Savoy who wanted to have this villa built in an eclectic style. Unfortunately, her husband, Umberto I, was never able to enjoy the castle, because he was killed by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci before the building was finished in 1904.
Castel Savoia dominates the Gressoney valley from its Belvedere, so called because of the wonderful view it can be enjoyed from here! The villa was built by the architect Emilio Stramucci, who worked a lot for the royal family.
The visit, which is done in groups of up to 25 people, leads to a visit to the interior of the villa in all their elegance. The ticket office is organized in the structure that once housed the kitchens, which the queen had wanted built outside the villa. From here, thanks to a gallery equipped with a Decauville track, the food was placed in closed trolleys and, by means of an elevator, could reach the villa.
The villa is set on three floors and is built with local stone. The base is surrounded by 5 neo-Gothic towers of different heights, surmounted by spiers different from each other, as well as the windows, which alternate numerous. Queen Margaret and her architect wanted the building to be a meeting of different styles. The interiors are richly decorated: the wooden coffered ceilings are finely inlaid with Savoy and floral motifs, in which the figure of the daisy recurs to honor the queen, and are the work of the Turin carver Michele Deller. The paintings on the walls and on the very elegant linen and silk tapestries are the work of Carlo Cussetti. The period photos that can be admired during the visit are interesting: Queen Margherita and King Umberto I, immortalized in moments of relaxation together with their entourage.
The park surrounding the house and the botanical or rocky garden are wonderful. The garden can be visited together with the villa, during the same opening hours. It is a reproduction of the alpine environment in 1 square km of rocky flower beds, hybrids and also specimens of particular ornamental plants from all over the world. It was created in 1990.
Another peculiarity of Castel Savoia is that one of the two additional housing structures located near the driveway to the villa was the home of Giosuè Carducci, a great friend of the queen, to whom it is dedicated.
In 1926, after the death of Queen Margherita, the castle was closed for a few years and was sold in 1936 to the Milanese industrialist Ettore Moretti, whose heirs sold the castle to the autonomous region of Valle d’Aosta in 1981, to which it still belongs today. .
A visit to Castello Savoia is certainly a fundamental step to get closer to the local history and culture!
Visiting hours
From April to September 09.00 – 19.00 every day
From October to March 10.00 – 13.00 and 14.0 – 17.00 (closed on Mondays)
Prices
Full € 5.00
Reduced € 3.50
Minors € 2.00
Free for children under 6, handicapped and accompanying persons, teachers and carers
Contacts
Castello Savoia
Località Belvedere
11025 GRESSONEY-SAINT-JEAN (AO)
Telefono:(+39) 0125 355396
Traveler reviews
The rock garden is amazing
The castle was built between 1889 and 1904 at the behest of Queen Margherita who spent every summer there until 1925, the year before her death in Bordighera. The style is medieval, the veranda, the windows, the staircase, the liberty decorations, the ceilings, the paintings and the period photographs are beautiful; the rock garden at the foot of the castle is magnificent with a great variety of alpine flora, congratulations to those who take care of it. It can be visited with a pleasant guided tour, 5 euros well spent.
Gressoney Castle and Lake
Wonderful views and places that made us want to visit the other castles of the Aosta Valley as well. The guided tour at a very affordable price is really worth it. The guide was very good and the other staff members were helpful and nice. I would recommend it
Worth a visit
More than a castle it is a mega villa. Built at the behest of Queen Margherita of Savoy. The place is fabulous partly for the queen’s private history and partly for the context. We appreciate the external structure but above all the interiors, poor in furniture, but rich in the wood finishes of the ceiling walls. Noteworthy are the stained glass windows. The castle is very well kept. About an hour’s visit accompanied by trained tourist guides. To the history of the place and of the Savoy family you can relive the life of the early 1900s with anecdotes and photographs of the place.
A must
Royal residence of undoubted beauty that I appreciated very much. I only found the guide, undoubtedly of great culture, a bit dispersed in reporting the contents relating to the monument.
The Queen Margherita Castle
This beautiful Castle wanted as a summer residence by Queen Margherita and the story that the guide tells during the visit is very interesting. The garden that you cross to get to the Castle is also very beautiful.
A gem of architecture
Built over a century ago, and excellently maintained. View of Monte Rosa from the terraces. Interesting construction, the guide tells you the background and some goodies of the construction. It is necessary to leave the car in the parking lot and walk to the entrance in a few minutes.
A walk through history
Although the castle has no ancient origins, having been built by Queen Margherita in the early 1900s, it is of considerable interest for the beauty of the landscape, the fairy-tale charm of the building and the memories it holds. The complex is well maintained and some details of the interior with their particular style are really interesting. The tour is carried out with a guide who also gives explanations. The guy who guided us was very good and gave accurate explanations. The small flower garden of alpine plants is also beautiful outside.
Everywhere the daisies !!!!
We visited this house with a nice and knowledgeable guide, who carefully showed us every detail of the castle …. You arrive at the castle after a nice walk through the park of larch and fir trees where the Monte Rosa chain is the outline and suddenly the structure covered with gray stone appears and at its feet there is a rocky garden rich in botanical species. As soon as you enter you are enchanted in front of the wooden staircase and the paintings of the ceilings and walls, the coat of arms of Savoy recurs; the structure is practically a “modern” dwelling but inside everything is magical and fairytale, wonderfully preserved. Inside, wood dominates, inlaid in countless designs, in which the daisy recurs, together with the Savoy coat of arms. The visit is highly recommended, not to be missed
