verres and issogne
 
Buses and trains continue up the main valley to VERRÈS , an undistinguished village overlooked by the gloomy cube of its virtually impregnable fourteenth-century fortress (Sun 10am-6pm; L6000/¬3.10). This is a stark, primitive place, built by the lord of the town, Ibelto di Challant, primarily as a military stronghold. The spartan soldiers' quarters give some idea of the conditions under which they lived; the Challants' quarters are barely more comfortable, although their fortress does go down in the history books as one of the first to install a toilet. If you need a room in Verrès for the night, there are some very basic ones in the Hotel Ghibli (tel 0125.929.316; up to L60,000/¬30.99), at Viale Stazione 9, three minutes' walk from the train station.

The castle at ISSOGNE (daily: March-Sept 9am-6pm; Oct-Feb 10am-5pm; L10,000/¬5.17) is of greater interest than its counterpart at Verrès - though another residence of the Challants, it's a far more comfortable and civilized dwelling. Few buses go there, but it's only a short walk from the bus stop outside Verrès. Set unceremoniously in the centre of Issogne village, from the outside the castle resembles a municipal building, and you'll probably wonder why you bothered to come. But the well-preserved interior is one of Valle d'Aosta's best examples of a late-Gothic ducal residence - with an arcaded courtyard, some vivid frescoes and coffered-ceilinged rooms filled with Gothic furniture.

In the centre of the courtyard is an unusual fountain - a wrought-iron pomegranate tree with water spurting from the lower branches. The courtyard's walls are patched with painted coats of arms, and in the shelter of one of the arcades is a colourful and bustling fresco of a medieval high street. From here, you pass through to the kitchens, a beautifully furnished dining room, a couple of chapels with ornate polyptychs, and into the Countess of Challant's bedroom, whose bedside chair conceals a commode. After seeing the castle, it's worth a look-in at the exhibition of costume (same hours and ticket as castle), which features well-researched reconstructions of those worn in the courtyard frescoes.