Sarriod de la Tour Castle, Saint-Pierre, Italy

Sarriod de la Tour Castle was originally a typical of the style built between the 10th and 12th centuries, and was greatly expanded by Jean Sarriod in 1420 and his son, Antoine, in 1478. The north wing's ground floor features a wooden-ceilinged 'Hall of Heads', named for its decorative motifs.

The Sarriod de la Tour Castle was the family residence of the Sarriod family since its founding. The Sarriods were politically linked to the powerful Bard family in the County of Savoy. The oldest part of the castle included a chapel and square tower, or donjon, surrounded by the castle walls. In 1420 Jean Sarriod expanded upon the 'turris Sariodorum', as the donjon was known. The 'Hall of Heads', built in 1430, features 171 corbels of grotesques of mythological monsters and animals bearing coats of arms.

In 1478 Jean's son, Antoine Sarriod de la Tour, refurbished the chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist, by having painted the external frescoes of the Crucifix and Saint Christopher and caused to be built the small bell tower. The castle wall's circular and semi-circular towers were added sometime in the late 15th century, when a new entrance was created on the eastern side. In the 16th century a west-facing wing was added, then, in the 17th century, a north tower. The Sarriod family inhabited the castle until 1923. In that year the castle went to the Genoese Bensa family. Since 1970, it has been property of the autonomous Region Aosta Valley.

Sarriod de la Tour is open to visitors year round.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Chiara Carnino (18 months ago)
Castello piccolino ma molto bello! La sala delle teste è molto interessante! Si accede solo tramite visite guidate. A chi ama il medioevo consiglio di non perderselo assolutamente

Manuel Consolaro (2 years ago)
Il Castello in Valle d'Aosta che più di ogni altro riesce a mostrare l'evolversi del tempo e degli usi attraverso l'evidenza di periodi diversi condensati in un unico luogo. Qui si può apprezzare la trasformazione dei castelli dalla prima fase medievale fino alla più recente (il castello è stato abitato fino al 1921). La Sala delle Teste rappresenta qualcosa di unico, con il suo soffitto ligneo, decorato da oltre 120 "teste" (elementi scultorei di legno), spesso non adatte ad un pubblico benpensante (sia chiaro che le teste in se non sono assolutamente volgari). 10 stelle ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ per la guida Max, che per ogni "testa" avrebbe potuto raccontare dieci storie (dategli corda e non ve ne pentirete!!!).

Dario Solera (3 years ago)
A small but interesting medieval castle with fifteenth century developmebts

Erik Woodard (3 years ago)
:: GREAT VIEW & TOURS :: With a working farm and vineyard, this castle shows the both military, religious, and agricultural history. The tour guide was great - we learned a lot about the castles construction, use throughout the centuries, different architectural styles, and the social/religious changes that dictated construction.

Luuk Vermei (4 years ago)
Nice castle with obligatory Italian spoken guided tour (3 euro for an adult). We were however allowed to walk on our own. All signposts are in Italian. We enjoyed the experience very much. Old castle with old fresco's.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Dan Lundberg

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The Church of Saint Demetrius, or Hagios Demetrios, is the main sanctuary dedicated to Saint Demetrius, the patron saint of Thessaloniki. It is part of the site Palaeochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessaloniki on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO since 1988.

The first church on the spot was constructed in the early 4th century AD, replacing a Roman bath. A century later, a prefect named Leontios replaced the small oratory with a larger, three-aisled basilica. Repeatedly gutted by fires, the church eventually was reconstructed as a five-aisled basilica in 629–634. This was the surviving form of the church much as it is today. The most important shrine in the city, it was probably larger than the local cathedral. The historic location of the latter is now unknown.

The church had an unusual shrine called the ciborium, a hexagonal, roofed structure at one side of the nave. It was made of or covered with silver. The structure had doors and inside was a couch or bed. Unusually, it did not hold any physical relics of the saint. The ciborium seems to have been a symbolic tomb. It was rebuilt at least once.

The basilica is famous for six extant mosaic panels, dated to the period between the latest reconstruction and the inauguration of the Byzantine Iconoclasm in 730. These mosaics depict St. Demetrius with officials responsible for the restoration of the church (called the founders, ktetors) and with children. An inscription below one of the images glorifies heaven for saving the people of Thessalonica from a pagan Slavic raid in 615.

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Following the Great Fire of 1917, it took decades to restore the church. Tombstones from the city"s Jewish cemetery - destroyed by the Greek and Nazi German authorities - were used as building materials in these restoration efforts in the 1940s. Archeological excavations conducted in the 1930s and 1940s revealed interesting artifacts that may be seen in a museum situated inside the church"s crypt. The excavations also uncovered the ruins of a Roman bath, where St. Demetrius was said to have been held prisoner and executed. A Roman well was also discovered. Scholars believe this is where soldiers dropped the body of St. Demetrius after his execution. After restoration, the church was reconsecrated in 1949.

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