CASTEL SAVOIA GRASSONEY - 📸Awesome video by: @renedulac

Castel Savoia was inspired by the holiday stays Queen Margherita and King Umberto I spent from 1889 onward at Villa Margherita, the residence of Baron Beck Peccoz. Enchanted by the sweeping views of the valley and the peaks of Monte Rosa beneath Colle Ranzola, the queen decided to build her own alpine retreat there.

Although King Umberto I initially preferred staying at Castle of Sarre for hunting trips, Queen Margherita eventually obtained permission to construct her holiday residence at 1,440 meters above sea level. The castle was designed by architect Emilio Stramucci, known for his work on royal Savoy residences and the Royal Palace.

Construction began in the summer of 1899, but King Umberto I never stayed there. In 1900, before the castle was completed in 1904, he was assassinated in Monza by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci.

As queen mother, Margherita spent long summers at the castle until 1925, surrounding herself with writers, intellectuals, and artists. Among her guests were the poet Giosuè Carducci and her beloved nephew, the future King Umberto II.

After Queen Margherita’s death in 1926 at Bordighera, the castle remained closed for several years before being sold in 1936 to Milanese industrialist Ettore Moretti, who preserved it almost unchanged. In 1981, his heirs sold the property to the autonomous region of Aosta Valley.
📸Awesome video by: @renedulac