Guided tour of the Cly Castle

The central valley is dominated by many castles, among these you can’t miss the Cly castle, situated on a ridge in the village of Saint Denis.
The Cly Castle belongs to those of a more “primitive” typology in the Aosta Valley, it is formed by a donjon (keep) surrounded by an extensive boundary wall that included also a Romanesque chapel as the Graines castle.
The castle belonged to the branch of the Challant family until the end of 14th century. The Lordship of Cly was then under the direct domination of the House of Savoy, after several transfers of ownership the castle was abandoned by the Marquis of Caselle, Pietro Filiberto Roncas and was partly demolished in order to have building material for the construction of a more comfortable palace in the village of Chambave.
The legend says that Johanneta Cauda, accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake in 1428, was imprisoned in the dungeon of the castle.
 
The Saint Maurice chapel dates back to the mid-11th century. The apse of the chapel was frescoed, but only a few fragments remain, depicting figures of angels, saints and evangelists, as demonstrated by some drawings by Alfredo d’Andrade from the early 20th century.
 

In the surroundings

Don’t miss a visit to the Marseiller Chapel, a beautiful chapel dedicated to Saint Michael with the vault and walls of the hall entirely covered with frescoes commissioned by the wealthy notary and lord of the castle of Cly Jean Saluard to the painter Giacomino d’Ivrea, an artist who was very active in the mid-fifteenth century in the Aosta Valley.

Discover here the guided tours of all the castles of the Aosta Valley