The imposing Masegra Castle was built in the Middle Ages and strategically positioned at the opening of the Valmalenco valley so it could easily control the access to the valley.
Since it was the property of the influential Salis family, it is the only castle in the town of Sondrio which wasn’t destroyed by the Grisons during their invasion of Valtellina in the 16th century.
As time went by, the castle lost its original defensive function and was converted from rough military outpost into an elegant residence more suited to a refined court, as testified by the frescoed rooms and beautiful loggias. Recently the castle’s stables have been converted into a historical museum, which gives visitors an in-depth look into aspects of life in Valtellina during the three centuries (1512-1797) of the Grisons’ occupation.
References:Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.
The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).