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Sarriod de la Tour Castle

Sarriod de la Tour's Hall of Heads, a 1430 ceiling carved with 171 figures near Aosta.

  • Saint-Pierre
  • Castle
Plan your visit
Where
Saint-Pierre
Best for
Hall of Heads ceiling
Allow
1 hour

The Sarriod family, minor Aosta Valley nobility, held this castle from the tenth or twelfth century until the family line died out in 1923, after which the Aosta Valley region acquired it in 1970 and opened it to the public in 2003.

Its centerpiece is the Sala delle Teste, the Hall of Heads, whose carved wooden ceiling from around 1430 bristles with 171 figures: nobles in period dress, grotesque faces, fantastical animals and carnival-like characters crowded along the beams. Frescoes spanning the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries survive elsewhere in the castle, including rare early Gothic work, and an exhibition called Fragmenta Picta displays painted fragments recovered from a nearby excavation.

Sources and citations (1)
  1. LoveVDASarriod de La Tour CastlePage heading Sarriod de La Tour Castle; Resort field Saint-Pierre; opening location paragraph and Contact field 11010 SAINT PIERRERead source

Four things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

  1. The Hall of HeadsAnonymous Valdostan woodcarvers, c. 1430

    A carved wooden ceiling with 171 corbels: nobles in fashionable headgear, grotesque faces, dogs, boars, mermaids, a unicorn and a dragon. Two carvers worked on it.First floor of the north wing

  2. The early Gothic chapel frescoesMaster of Saint-Pierre, 13th century

    Fragments of an Adoration of the Magi, the Entry into Jerusalem and a Crucifixion, rare early Gothic painting in the Aosta Valley. A later Baroque vault cut the wall paintings in half.Chapel, south side of the enclosure

  3. The Crucifixion and Saint ChristopherMaster of Antoine de Sarriod de La Tour, c. 1478 to 1483

    A poignant Christ and a suffering Saint Christopher striding across an alpine lake full of fish, with the Child clutching his hair.At the old entrance to the chapel

  4. The donjonMedieval, enlarged c. 1420

    The square tower at the heart of the castle, with the cross-shaped windows typical of Valdostan 15th-century houses.Center of the castle complex

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Booking
No booking needed
Time needed
1 hour
Best time
A weekday morning, combined with nearby Chatel-Argent or Aosta's Roman sites
Getting there
In Saint-Pierre, about 5 km west of Aosta, just off the SS26; regional buses between Aosta and Saint-Pierre stop nearby.

Bring binoculars for the Hall of Heads ceiling: the 171 carved figures are high overhead and easy to underappreciate from the floor.

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Good to know

How long should you spend at Sarriod de la Tour Castle?

About an hour is enough for the Hall of Heads, the chapel and the tower. The castle is small and easy to take in. Add time if you want to study the ceiling carvings one by one.

Is Sarriod de la Tour Castle worth visiting?

Yes, for the Hall of Heads alone. The ceiling of 171 carved figures is a rare piece of wooden sculpture in the Aosta Valley. It feels irregular and lived in, unlike the tidier restored castles.

Can you see Sarriod de la Tour and Saint-Pierre Castle in one day?

Yes. Sarriod de la Tour stands on the other side of Saint-Pierre village from the better-known Saint-Pierre Castle, so the two fit into a short outing west of Aosta. Regional buses between Aosta and Saint-Pierre stop nearby.

More to see nearby

Same city first, then the nearest across the region.

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