Cly Castle, Saint-Denis, Italy

Cly is a castle in Saint-Denis, overlooking the Dora Baltea river, belongs to the so-called primitive style of castle, consisting of a keep with a surrounding wall. The ruins rise from a bed of metamorphic rock, on the edge of a fault line which extends to the Castle of Quart.

Cly was first mentioned in a document from 1207, in which the 'chapel sancti Mauricij de castro Cliuo' is mentioned among the goods of the Vicarage of Saint-Gilles in Verrès, but the keep has been dated to 1027 using an analysis of the tree rings in its timbers (dendrochronology). Originally a fief held from the Counts of Savoy, in 1376 the direct ownership passed to the Duchy of Savoy, which installed a castellanto administer it for them until abandoned in 1550. The castle fell to ruins in the centuries that followed.

Eventually the castle ruins became the property of the nearby town of Saint-Denis. The castle is visible atop the hill overlooking the town of Chambave. The castle is open to guided tours only in July and August.

References:

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User Reviews

Katharina Wa (3 years ago)
Beautiful ruins of a castle, with a great young Italian guide who did an amazing job at giving us a private 30min tour in French!

Shai Noy (3 years ago)
Make sure to check on the beautiful area behind the castle (a bit down the road, then a short climb on foot). The scenery is dramatic. Maybe you'll see a salamander.

Kaminukas (4 years ago)
It’s closed now, but where’s ways to get in… I celebrated my birthday by having a picnic with my bf and dogs in the garden by the castle. It was a cloudy n rainy day but that made it even more enjoyable for me as I it was pretty spooky and melancholic… also, it’s so magical to explore a place like this all alone ??‍♀️ Sadly I can’t attach any videos here, don’t have a lot of photos to add, but I promise it’s worth visiting in any kind of weather

Angelo Malvasia (6 years ago)
Panoramica posizione raggiungibile in auto o a piedi con la bella mulattiera da Chambave. Aspetto severo e maestoso. Aperto solo in poche occasioni.

Matthieu Crétier (7 years ago)
The castle is extremely nice. Despite having been abandoned for several centuries and never truly renovated, it is possible to imagine how it was back in the Middle Age. Deserve a mention the effort of the municipality that opens it every summer. Not to forget the young students that with passion and expertise guide the tourists through the history of the castle and its development. Moreover the ticket is very cheap! Perfect destination for romantic tourists with the gift of imagination!

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Ninara

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