On one of our first days at Montestrutto Castle, a couple that was not part of our group found the gate left open and not knowing any better, came inside and were found wandering the grounds. Because our group has rented it for the week we would be responsible for any accidents, so we have all been asked to leave the gates closed. This means that someone staying in the castle has to come down and let us all in when we arrive in the morning. Today it seems that everyone in the castle must have slept in, because there was quite a group waiting by the time the gates were opened. (We were becoming restive and debating whether it made sense to lob cannonballs or try scaling the wall — luckily nobody was that desperate!)

The morning was devoted to singing practice, mostly polishing and practicing songs that we have all learned and worked on at least once or twice before. Our concert is coming up soon!

In the afternoon, we took to the road again to visit a different nearby castle, the Castello di Issogne. The town of Issogne is partway up the Valle d’Aoste, just past the Bard Fortress, with mountains on both sides. The castle itself wasn’t much to look at from the outside; what makes it special is the decorations and furnishings on the inside. The walls are covered with frescoes, some faded where they were exposed to the elements, but many still in surprisingly good shape. The castle has the form of a three-sided box around a central courtyard, with a fountain in the middle (undergoing reconstruction during our visit) and gardens beyond. The inner walls of the courtyard were covered with an elaborate family tree of the founding Challant family, with each relative represented by their coat of arms.

Many parts of the family tree were faded, but another set of murals near the front gate of the castle were still in surprisingly good shape. These depict slice-of-life scenes from the medieval village, including the lord’s guardhouse with the soldiers playing games including backgammon and nine men’s morris. The market scene depicts among other things a poor man attempting to steal some food, and a lecherous servant ogling a lady instead of paying attention to the fruit he is buying for his master. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the frescoes is the graffiti they are covered with. This isn’t the modern, spray-painted variety; rather, the markings themselves are also historical, recalling visitors through many centuries. They include names, bits of poetry, and other drawings and bits of writing.

The castle interiors have been well maintained throughout the centuries, and include many original pieces of furniture. In the 1800s an artist named Vittorio Avondo bought the place with the idea of restoring it to its former glory. He brought in additional period furnishings, in some cases resorting to replicas when necessary. It seems that he and his friends were early medieval reenactors, wanting to live their lives in a real castle while acting out mock feasts and battles. The castle also provided inspiration for their art, including a huge painting of the castle courtyard (slightly embellished) by Avondo’s friend Federico Pastoris.

Sitting as it does on the route between Italy and France, the castle sometimes played host to important guests. In fact, the main bedroom is dedicated to King Charles VIII of France, who is known to have feasted in the castle and may also have stayed there.