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The Royal Castle of Sarre stands on a hill overlooking the valley and facing Valdigne.
It includes a central body with a high square tower in the centre. On the ground floor, there were the dining room, the apartment of the Prince of Naples, and the caretaker’s lodging; the basement housed the kitchens, the pantry, and several cellars.

On the first floor, in the “hall of the castles”, there is a model of this fortress and several paintings representing the strongholds of Valle d’Aosta. In the Royal Hall, visitors can admire the portraits of the first rulers of unified Italy and some important members of the Savoy Royal family.
In the rooms on the second floor, there are some large portraits dating back to the time of Vittorio Emanuele III and Elena of Montenegro.

Outside, there’s the XVIII century chapel dedicated to Saint Barbara, rebuilt by Baron Ferrod around 1713 and featuring some paintings of the beatified members of the Savoy family.

The castle was built in 1242 by Giacomo di Bard, the founder of the Sarre family, which owned it until 1364. In 1869, it was bought by King Vittorio Emanuele II. The stables were thus built, together with the observatory tower. The castle used to be the residence of the sovereign during his hunting trips to Aosta Valley, hence the several trophies on display inside the fortress. Umberto I made significant improvements to the building and the castle later became the residence of the Princes of Piedmont, Umberto and Maria Josè, during their stay in the Region.

During the Second World War, the stronghold was used by military troops who damaged it and deprived it of many of its furnishings. It was then purchased by the Morian Society from Aosta in 1972 and used as the Museum of Dynastic Memories. In 1989, the castle passed to the Aosta Valley Region, which carried out some major restoration work endorsed by the National Cultural Heritage Authority.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)