Châtel-Argent was an Italian medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the Alpine town of Villeneuve. It is now a ruin. As with many other castles in the region, Châtel-Argent overlooks the

Dora Baltea The Dora Baltea () or Doire Baltée () is a river in the Aosta Valley and in Piedmont, in northwestern Italy. It is a left-hand tributary of the Po and is about long. Name The river's Latin name was ''Duria maior'', ''Duria Baltica'' or ''Duri ...

() River which runs through the

Aosta Valley The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

History

Originally the home of the

Salassi The Salassi or Salasses were a Gallic or Ligurian tribe dwelling in the upper valley of the Dora Baltea river, near present-day Aosta, Aosta Valley, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''dià Salassō̃n'' (δ� ...

people, settlements have existed on this site since prehistoric times and through the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Era. There is a chapel dedicated to Saint Columba of Sens which was built sometime between 1050 and 1070. The castle first appears in a document in 1176 as "Castrum Argenteum". The castle was improved around 1275 under the direction of Count Peter II's architect James St. George () and castle grew to the configuration we see today. This castle had always been owned by the counts and the dukes of

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

Description

The ruins can be accessed from Villeneuve by walking a staircase carved into the rock of the valley wall. The castle is located in the town of Villeneuve in the

region, at about 10 km west of the city of

Aosta Aosta ( , , ; ; , or ; or ) is the principal city of the Aosta Valley, a bilingual Regions of Italy, region in the Italy, Italian Alps, north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel and the G ...

. The most prominent feature left in the ruins is its watchtower

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

measuring just under 10 meters in diameter which overlooks the town below. The ruins themselves cover about 6,300 square meters. When the castle was whole, it was estimated to be able to hold 700 people in times of danger.

References

External links

* Office of Tourism
Office du tourisme - Autonomous Region Aosta Valley
2015. Accessed on April 17, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chatel-Argent Castles in Aosta Valley

History

Description

See also

References

External links