Heritage: Aymavilles, Villeneuve

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In proximity of the Pont d’Ael hamlet, on the right side of the road leading up to Cogne from Aymavilles, an aqueduct-bridge in masonry and stone blocks built above the Grand-Eyvia stream gives evidence of the magnificence of the works realised during the Roman era, measuring 56 metres in height and more than 50 metres in length.
The monument had a double function of bridge and acqueduct and was consequently built on two different levels: a drain for canalizing water in the upper part and a covered passageway of about 1 meter width in the lower section, allowing the transit of men and animals.
An inscription on the northern front attributes the building’s construction at the year 3 B.C., to the private initiative of Caius Avillius Caimus, coming from Patavium (Padua): belonging to a well-off gens, he could invest in the mining activity for digging out the “bardiglio” marble, widely used in the erection of private and public buildings in the town of Aosta. The acqueduct-bridge played therefore a fundamental role in the extraction and processing of the marble of the local quarries.
The recent research and restoration works of the Pont d’Ael site, have consisted in archaeological excavations, as well as in the complete conservative renovation of the roman aqueduct-bridge and in recovering an adjacent building destined to become the site’s interpretation Centre.
The renovation project has allowed to create a visit itinerary following the original ring, permitting the visitors to pass on the above walkway, enter in the covered passage from the left river and go out from the right one, where a stretch of the ancient Roman service road, nowadays partially destructed, will be reproduced in the natural rock.

A castle unique in its kind that combines medieval and baroque phases in its external appearance, the result of the architectural initiatives of the various members of the Challant family who, over the centuries, have adapted the building to the needs and tastes of the time.

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The castle of Aymavilles is located in Valle d’Aosta along the road to Cogne on a hill surrounded by vineyards in the municipality of the same name.
The castle underwent a long and elaborate renovation that began in 2000, which involved numerous professionals in the design, studies and historical research, archaeological investigations and restorations. The restoration involved both the architectural structure and the interior decorations, managing to enhance the particularities of the various building campaigns and the numerous structural changes that took place over the centuries.
Numerous anecdotes, surprises and curiosities emerged from the past during the archival research and during the works, all of which are now visible during the visit.

The history
The first mention of the castle dates back to May 1207. The castle began to undergo significant transformations starting from the fourteenth century, with its passage to the Challants, an important noble family of Valle d’Aosta.
During the 15th century, the castle was enriched by the addition of four corner towers, by a double ring of walls and by the construction of the top floor.
A large construction campaign dates back to the time of Joseph-Félix de Challant when, between 1713 and 1728, the spaces between the four corner towers were embellished with loggias, decorated with elegant stucco elements, while the interiors of the house were transformed considerably and made more comfortable.
The creation of the terraced park helped to give the castle the semblance of a modern noble residence surrounded by greenery, completely losing its appearance of a medieval defensive fortress.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, following the various changes of ownership, the castle underwent numerous internal changes, linked to its use first as a house museum by will of the last descendant of the Challant house, Vittorio Cacherano della Rocca, and later for the summer holidays of Piedmontese and Ligurian families. In 1970 the castle became part of the assets of the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta.

The museum itinerary
The guided tour and multimedia installations allow the visitor to discover the history of the castle through the salient phases of its transformation, linked to the different families who lived there.
The museum itinerary extends along four levels:

• Level I - the story of the families who alternated as owners of the castle: on the ground floor the rooms illustrate the events of the Challant family and of the Bombrinis, the last owners of the castle before its purchase by the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta
• Level II – the nineteenth-century collections, from Vittorio Cacherano della Rocca Challant to the collection of the Accademia di Sant’Anselmo: on the first floor, the large hall represents the turning point between the story of the castle and the birth of the collection of the Valle d’Aosta cultural association in the 19th century to which all the rooms in this section are devoted
• Level III - the rooms of Madama Giovane and the collection of the Accademia di Sant’Anselmo: the exhibition coexists with bits of evidence of 19th-century daily life at the castle
• Level IV - the evolutionary phases of the castle and the wooden ceiling of the 15th century: the attic, together with a few bits of the still visible architectural evidence, illustrates the transformations of the building over the centuries with the support of multimedia technologies.

The Saint Ann chapel, in Cerignan, was built in 1749.
The construction was financed by the people of the village, which was almost two hours away from the mother church of Aymavilles, in order to invoke the protection of the saint and receive the sacraments in case of illness.

Chapel of the Saints Barbara and Theodule, in Ozein, dating back to the 16th century, but rebuilt in the nineteenth century.

Every year, during the month of August, the statue of Saint Theodule is brought around in a procession, decorated with bunches of grapes, to invoke a good harvest.

Slightly upstream from the village centre of Aymavilles, along the road that leads to Cogne, the church with its characteristic “trompe-l’oeil” façade, in its current forms, dates back to 1762, but the belltower originates from the previous building, on it there is a rare fourteenth century bell.

The trompe l’oeil façade was painted in 1857 by the painter Grange: in the center the martyrdom of St. Léger, and on the sides the saints Joseph, Germano, Grato and Leonard.
The main altar was made in 1856 by the sculptor Freydoz of Brusson. The organ was built in 1848 by G. N. Cesa.

In the basement it conceals a small crypt, which is attributed to the 9th-10th century. Later enlarged, it had to have three naves (one would have been destroyed or incorporated into the northern wall of the current church).

The relative parish was separated from the other one of Aymavilles, dedicated to Saint-Martin, at the end of the 18th century.

Saint Andrew chapel, in the cozy village of Pont D’Ael, known for its spectacular Roman aqueduct bridge, is already mentioned in 1693, but it is certainly older.

The village is located along the hiking trail Cammino Balteo.

The hydroelectric plant of Champagne 1 is an industrial monument of the Belle Époque.Built in 1921, it is one of the most interesting plants, in an architectural point of view:austere and solid on the outside, embellished by decorations and architectural motifs on the inside.The plant is characterized by a structure made up of a grey stone main unit with large windows and two quadrangular side towers.The structure harmoniously fits in with the castles located in the surrounding areas: Saint-Pierre, Aymavilles, Introd, Avise and Arvier.

But the main point of interest of this tour is exploring the inside of the plant.Once inside the main entrance you come into a large hall, completely decorated on the ceilings and walls.Beside this building there is the other plant called Champagne 2 (visits not allowed), much more simple in shape and form.

The decorations were completed in 1929 and were recently restored. From this hall, where the turbines and generators are located, a grand staircase leads to a room where long ago the operation and production of the plant was controlled. The tour of the plant is interesting in order to better understand the running of hydroelectric plants and to see how energy can be produced by the use of a precious natural element:water.
Close to the plant you can also admire the huge wheel of a hydraulic turbine.

You may visit the outside of the plant all year round.Guided tours of the inside are given during weekdays, from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. and from 2.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m.Guided tours of the outside and inside last about half an hour. You must make reservations.

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Recent studies have shown that the current configuration of the castle dates back to around 1275; however the place name Castrum Argenteum had already appeared in 1176.
The constructor was probably Master James of Saint Georges, the architect of Count Peter II, already active in Wales. The promontory on which the castle stands and which overlooks the residential area of Villeneuve had already been inhabited in protohistoric times and during the Roman era.
Its strategic position ensured that the castle remained property of the Count of Savoy along the centuries.

The castle consists of a vast enclosure with fortifications and a watchtower on the outside.
On the eastern side is the chapel, the oldest part of the complex (11-12th century). The western part of the enclosure is delimited by a defence wall which contains the entrance. This second perimeter structure contained the residential wings, now destroyed, buttressed against the wall, the vaulted cistern and the circular keep.
The architecture puts in evidence the defensive aspect of the original structure: the entrance door was placed some meters above the earth level and the only openings are the embrasures that are practically invisible from the outside.
The castle can be reached on foot in about fifteen minutes from the little road starting from the bridge over the Dora Baltea, in the village of Villeneuve.

You can access the church on foot, within the space of five minutes, from the road that unwinds from the bridge over the Dora Baltea.

The Romanesque style church, which is located at the foot of the medieval castle, was the seat of the parish until the end of the 18th century. The bell tower is a typical square shaped tower. During the digs carried out in the building, the remains of the ancient early-Christian church and the relative baptismal font were found.

The semi-circular shaped crypt, near the choir, dates back to the 11th century. Inside the church you can still admire important frescos from the 13th to the 16th century, as well as furnishings.

The current parish church in the centre of the village of Villeneuve, consecrated to Saint Mary of the Assumption, was built in 1792 on the chapel of the old hospital.

The decoration of the facade with “trompe l’oeil” columns by Giuseppe Stornone dates back to 1863 and depicts the ascension of the Virgin in the centre, on the sides Saint Grato and Saint Biagio and in the tympanum the trinity with Jesus, God the father and the dove symbol of the Holy Spirit.

The interior pictorial decoration focuses on the vaults and ceilings.
The main altar in polychrome marble was donated by the Gerbore family at the end of the 1700s.
The altarpiece is from 1914 while the altar facing the people dates back to 1975.

The left altar in painted and gilded wood is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary: the canvas depicts the Virgin enthroned with the child with saints, surrounded by the 15 mysteries of the Rosary.
The altar on the right, in carved wood, partly gilded and painted, is dedicated to Saint Biagio, patron saint of Villeneuve, and to Saint Anthony.

The pipe organ was built by Giovanni Franzetti and his son in 1861.

Curiosity:
In the square in front of the church, there is a frescoed sundial with the date of 1875 and the symbols of knowledge: sextant, globe, hourglass, pen and inkwell. With the equation table it is possible to calculate the time difference at various times of the year, which varies from + 15 to - 16 minutes.

The church is located along the Cammino Balteo hiking trail.