Climbing up from the lower valley towards Aosta, you travel the roads of the lords and knights of old, admiring in sequence: Castel Savoia, near Gressoney-Saint-Jean, with its five pointed turrets, each different from the other, and the lush botanical garden, where rare and fragrant plants grow.
The 14th-century Castello di Verres, reopened this year after careful restorations, whose military fortress profile is softened by the rich decorations of doors, windows, and chimneys.
Issogne, just over 2 km away, with stately interiors, beautifully decorated, and a lovely porticoed courtyard, at the center of which stands an octagonal fountain with a spectacular wrought iron pomegranate tree. Fenis, perhaps the best known and most visited, with splendid battlement walls and majestic towers.
Sarre, just beyond the city of Aosta, transformed in 1869 into the hunting residence of King Victor Emmanuel II. And Sarriod de la Tour, in the municipality of Saint-Pierre, protected by an extensive curtain wall and not far from the cool waters of the Dora. The circuit is completed by another 13 manors, currently closed for restoration, of which only the exteriors and gardens are visitable.
