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beautiful vintage location, very well kept both in the outside of the gardens and in the interior. the windows and the wooden staircase overlooking the valley, really impressive!
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Date of experience: November 2018
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You can only enter in guided tours. We arrived half an hour before the tour and the ticket office recommended that we wait for the tour. They said there was no other way to get in and the tour is going to be in English. When we entered en half an hour latter, we realized that the entire tour was in Italian and that there was not a single word in English. We asked the young lady (the same woman who sold us the tickets) at least to try to explain shortly in English , she firmly refused and said we had received brochures in English and we can read. We asked to leave because it was a waste of time to stay if we did not understand anything, she refused to let us out and we had to stay 40 minutes until the end of the tour. Even without understanding the explanation and after seeing all the rooms in the palace, this is a very small palace and really unimpressive. I saw that the Italian speakers next to us were not impressed either. Even the outside is not as beautiful as it looks in the pictures. In conclusion, it is not worth the trouble to get there And if you pass there you can only look from the outside and continue to many charming places in the area…
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Date of experience: October 2018
1 Helpful vote
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Regina Margherita of Italy is famous in the whole world. Many people don’t realise this. Pizza Margherita is named after her; allegedly she didn’t like anchovies - these were dutifully removed from Pizza Napoletana when she lived with the Prince Consort in Naples and Pizza Margherita was born. Next time you are thankful that this triumph of culinary simplicity keeps the children happy make a mental note to visit. If you ever pass by the Val del Lys or fancy a detour from the most expensive motorway in Italy ( the one in Val d’Aosta) come to this spot. This is the castle where she spent many Summers having had it built herself. From here she could look at her beloved Lyskamm and the Monte Rosa glacier and enjoy mountain vacations when she would rest from her charitable and political activities. Her husband King Umberto I never enjoyed it as he was assassinated while it was built. Apart from Leonardo Da Vinci nobody as famous and enterprising has shown such an interest in this valley. The building is more of a large villa but is reminiscent of a miniature but square set Neuschweinstein with a number of turrets (one octagonal) but without the planning folly that plagued Prince Ludwig of Bavaria. It is not as grand and not in an imposing position; in fact if you don’t know it is there you may miss it altogether. The architecture is thoughtful focusing on practical internal solutions that maximise the comfort and views of its inhabitants (including a railway to connect the kitchens that were in a different building - now the ticket office). The interiors are interesting but quite Spartan- don’t expect a Versailles but, whatever one’s political view, the building helps to understand her character- energetic, no nonsense, dedicated to building a positive image of the monarchy (in spite of her husband’s indiscretions), intellectually active, a people’s queen but nevertheless convinced that an old fashioned ‘paternalistic’ approach was the best way towards the wellbeing of the people. Understanding the history of her times will give you insights into the early years of Italian unification and into the fear and horror that the 1917 Russian revolution engendered in the rulers of Western Europe. Consistent with her live if mountains she was also responsible for supporting the construction of and then inaugurating the rifugio Margherita up the valley and close to the peaks. There still is no building which is as high in Europe and it was used to understand altitude physiology for many years. Enjoy. …
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Date of experience: April 2017
2 Helpful votes
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Beautiful Savoy family summer castle, where Queen Margarita of Italy spent 15 years of holidays. The royal atmosphere remains hanging in the enthusiast story telling guide, the castle itself and the whole of the valley air. We love coming to this area for our ski holidays.
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Date of experience: February 2018
2 Helpful votes
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Seeing the shooting of a movie in these places can make your mind come back to daydreaming. What you see and what surrounds it can stimulate the imagination and tell stories of the regime but also of characters from the fantastic woods.
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Date of experience: November 2017
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