Top 8 Castles around Lillianes

The Forte di Bard seen from the bridge over the Dora Baltea river offers one of the most iconic and photographed views in the Aosta Valley. This spectacular perspective captures the imposing, craggy fortress that dominates the village below and the river waters.

Beautiful bridge connecting Hone to Bard. Magnificent view of the fort.

The origin of this bridge is uncertain, but it was most likely built as early as Roman times. The first documents in which this bridge is mentioned, however, date from the second half of the 13th century. From 1272, the bridge is called the Hôhne Bridge or Bard Bridge in Latin and then in Old French. Apart from its history, the bridge is a beautiful photo point of Fort Bard.

In addition to many temporary exhibitions, often aimed at promoting and learning about the culture and territory of the Aosta Valley and the Alps, the Forte di Bard includes three permanent museums. 1.) On the top floor is the Museum of the Alps. Here the secrets of the mountain have been presented through a multimedia path and interactive installations. A truly worthwhile and informative museum!!! 2.) A second museum room is dedicated to the prisons of the fort, twenty-four narrow cells (1.3 x 2 meters) distributed in four areas and accessed from a gallery decorated with historical prints and paintings that tell the story of the building. 3.) Finally, the Fortress and Border Museum of the Opera Ferdinando offers a journey through the history of the Bard through a parade of historical and plastic weapons, including scale models of defensive structures and miniature armies. Source: https://www.visititaly.eu/it/luoghi-e-itinerari/cosa-vedere-a-bard-borgo-in-valle-aosta

After the battle with Napoleon, the fort was the scene of another, even more epic battle, albeit only on the big screen. It is 2015 and Iron Man and his companions are fighting in the shadow of the castle to save the world. "The castle has become the headquarters of the villain Age of Ultron." Statues and totems indicate the points where the scenes were filmed. Source: https://www.visititaly.eu/it/luoghi-e-itinerari/cosa-vedere-a-bard-borgo-in-valle-aosta

The Fort de Bard, which has remained almost unchanged since its reconstruction, represents one of the best examples of a dam fortress from the beginning of the 19th century. The stronghold has three main buildings, on several levels, between 400 and 467 meters high: from the lowest, the Ouvrage Ferdinand, to the middle one, the Ouvrage Victor and, at the top, the Ouvrage Charles-Albert, a whole of 283 rooms. The Ouvrage Ferdinand is shaped like pincers and has two buildings, the Ouvrage Ferdinand Inférieur and the Ouvrage Ferdinand Supérieur. The Ouvrage Mortai, placed behind the latter and the adjoining Powder Magazine house the rooms intended for the didactic laboratories. About halfway up the rock, stands the Ouvrage Victor where you will find "Les Alpes des Enfants", an interactive trail. At the top, the most imposing of the three structures has an enclosure on which all the buildings rest and which contains the Ouvrage de Gola, its courtyard, which can defend the south side, and the Ouvrage Charles-Albert and its large quadrangular courtyard of the Place d'Armes, surrounded by large arcades. The first floor of the Ouvrage Charles-Albert is dedicated to the "Musée des Alpes". Inside the structure, there is also a tour of the history of the Fort, in the Prison rooms. The Fort is accessible by an external road, on the south side, which leads to the courtyard of the Ouvrage de Gola, and by an internal road which winds in narrow steep bends, protected by large stone walls and which goes up the opposite slope towards the North, thus allowing one to reach the Ouvrage Charles-Albert. These two roads are only accessible on foot. The summit of the rock and the fortress is easily accessible thanks to the panoramic lifts which, from the village of Bard to the foot of the Fort, provide access to the Ouvrage Charles-Albert and therefore to the Museum of the Alps. https://www.viefrancigene.org/fr/resource/poi/forte-di-bard/

The impressive fortress of Bard dominates the upper valley of the Dora Baltea. After being dismantled by Napoleon in 1800, it was rebuilt in the 19th century by the House of Savoy.

The Château Vallaise was the most sumptuous residence of the family of the same name from Arnad. It was acquired by the regional administration in 2010 along with the Castello Inferiore della Costa, the upper castle (or “Castellaccio”) and the relevant lands. The castle is currently closed to the public and is undergoing initial preparatory work for restoration and enhancement, made possible through the use of EU funds and proceeds from the Lotto lottery. The Castello Inferiore della Costa is located west of the Castello Vallaise. It was built when the Vallaise family abandoned the upper castle for this residence and for the Casaforte di Ville. Called the "domus fortis de la Costa", it already appears on a map from 1462. In a will from 1487 it is defined as "domus nova de Costa", evidently because the memory of its construction was still preserved. The two castles were connected by a covered gallery.