Long before castles became residences, they were instruments of control, and Graines belongs to that first generation. Set on a rocky knoll above Brusson in the Val d'Ayas, it consists of a ring of curtain walls following the outline of the rock, enclosing the remains of a keep and a small chapel — no comfort, no ornament, simply a wall, a tower and a place to pray, at a point from which the valley and its routes could be watched. Its ruined state is part of its power: bare stone against grass and sky, with the mountains of the Val d'Ayas rising all around. The castle passed within the sphere of the great feudal families of the Aosta Valley and later lost its purpose, leaving the shell that survives today. Filmed in 4K with aerial coverage, the programme uses Graines to show how medieval power was written directly onto alpine geography.
