The 5 Best Things to do in Fenis, Valle d'Aosta

Among the most famous of the castles in the Aosta Valley, Fenis strikes visitors with its triumph of towers and crenellated walls. The castle sits on flat ground, which is unusual; Aimone de Challant improved it by building an impressive defensive system, which also features double curtain walls. However, more than being a fortress, the Fenis castle was a prestigious and refined residence: the courtyard and the rooms inside are rich in frescoes - the result of a decorating campaign started by Aimone’s son, Bonifacio in all likelihood. Not to miss is the famous St. George slaying the dragon by Jacquerio and his school, on the stone semicircular courtyard staircase. Many of the furnishings present, which are not original to the castle, were purchased by Alfredo d’Andrade, then Superintendent of Fine Arts, who supervised the restoration work at the end of the nineteenth century thus restoring the castle to its former glory.

MAV opened on January 24, 2009. It houses in Villa Montana near the famous medieval castle of Fénis. MAV is not a nostalgic museum: the promotion of the works of its collection proves a dynamic project of cultural production in which the dialogue with the territory prevails and where community can identify the distinctive and evolutionary lines of a shared handicraft patrimony. Place for meeting and discussion as well as dynamical and inventive workshop, MAV connects the role of guardian of memory to cultural promotion, educational impulse and research activities aimed to create some opportunities for participation and exchange with the community and craftsmen. In the same spirit, the training vocation expresses in experiential learning activities focused on gestures and contact with the raw material devoted to a wide audience of youths and adults.