Castello di Suzey, building in "Pont-Saint-Martin, Aosta Valley", Italy

Castello di Suzey is a ruined medieval castle on a rocky spur above the hamlet of Ivéry, in Pont-Saint-Martin, Aosta Valley, near the Perloz border. Its irregular enceinte, now partly collapsed and overgrown, enclosed a circular tower about 5 metres in diameter, while the main residential block on the north side had walls 80 cm thick, a two-pitched roof with a parapet, and a surviving trefoil window whose central column is lost.

The castle is regularly documented from the 14th century in the feudal surveys of the Vallaise family, who held possessions across the Lys valley and the lower Dora valley between Perloz, Lillianes, Fontainemore, part of Pont-Saint-Martin and Arnad. Recent studies describe a circular tower 5 m in diameter, possibly of the 12th or 13th century, though Carlo Nigra, who surveyed the ruins before the 1940s, noted that its exact dimensions cannot be known because it is completely ruined. The residential block, with walls 80 cm thick, was probably built a century after the walls and tower.

The ruins stand on a rocky spur above the hamlet of Ivéry, reached on foot by a hiking path through the Holay pond nature reserve; there is no road access to the site. The walls are partly collapsed and overgrown, so watch your footing on the uneven ground. The reserve protects a flora of particular interest, and the promontory is a favourite with walkers.

A notable historical incident involves Domenico and Gottofredo of the Vallaise family, who in 1351 abducted a merchant from Ivrea and demanded ransom at the castle. This act of feudal brigandage adds a tangible human story to the ruins, revealing the rough and lawless nature of medieval life in the valley.