Overview
On its sheer rock, high above the course of the Evançon River, the extraordinary cube of the fortress began to take shape around 1390 on the initiative of Ébal de Challant (Ebalo or Ibleto in Italian), who was then governor and captain-general of Piedmont. Before then, however, the ruins of a fortified building had stood here, and in the first half of the 16th century the cube was given an outer wall by René de Challant (Renato in Italian).
Exceptional for its linearity and coherent layout as well as its environmental value, the castle is one of the highest expressions of late-Gothic military architecture. It has walls two and a half metres thick, large Gothic windows, embrasures, and heating provided by gigantic chimneys.
Around the courtyard, the body of the castle is arranged in a ring on three floors, connected by a monumental stone staircase set on flying buttresses. On the ground floor are two large halls, one of which is the armoury, and the kitchen, the only room that still retains its original roof. The rooms on the main floor, illuminated by larger mullioned windows than on the other floors, belonged to a noble residence. The dining room is connected to the kitchen by a serving hatch.
