Castle of Fènis

A scenographic structure: the position of the Castle of Fènis is on a gentle hill and its elegant crenellated walls lead us to think of an almost fairytale function, rather than a defensive one. It is one of the best preserved medieval castles in Italy. Masks with apotropaic function (ie useful to drive away evil influences) on the walls, a fresco depicting St. George killing the dragon.

The courtyard with a series of essays drawn (one different from the other) holding parchments with proverbs and moral maxims in old French, the surrounding nature… everything takes you back to legendary lives of a distant bygone era. Cinematic curiosities: various scenes of "Fracchia against Dracula" and of the television miniseries "La Freccia Nera" were shot in the castle.

Unlike other manors in the region, such as Verrès and Ussel, built on top of rocky promontories to be better defensible, the castle of Fénis is located in a place completely devoid of natural defenses. This leads us to think that its function was above all as a prestigious administrative seat of the Challant-Fénis family and that the double walls also served above all as an ostentatious function, to intimidate and amaze the population.

Map: Castle of Fènis

vCard Info:

Address: Località  Chez Sapin, 1, 11020
Fènis (AO) Valle d'Aosta
Latitude: 45.73693068561207
Longitude: 7.488958239555359
Site: http://www.regione.vda.it/cult...

vCard created by: CHO.earth
Currently owned by: CHO.earth

Type: Building
Function: Castle
Creation date:
Last update: 06/08/2022