Château de Saint-Romain-d'Ay

En un regard

Le château en bref

Château d'Ay stands on a rocky spur overlooking the Ay valley, in the commune of Saint-Romain-d'Ay, in the Ardèche. The site is mentioned as a castrum in a deed of donation dated 1001–1003, and subsequently appears in several feudal records: in 1236, Aymar, lord of Annonay, acknowledged holding it as a fief from the Count of Forez, before acquiring it in 1270. In 1284, a dispute arose between several co-lords, including Jocerand d'Ay, Arnaud d'Iserand and Artaud de Roussillon, over the administration of justice in the place; the castle is still mentioned in 1480 in connection with Jacques de Tournon. The complex includes several rectangular keeps — sources differ on their precise dating, between the early Middle Ages and the early 12th century — altered up to the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as a fortified enclosure that is still partly preserved. A chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame d'Ay, which houses a listed 17th-century statue of a Black Madonna and Child, developed within the site, making it a place of pilgrimage that remains active today. The castle is privately owned and can only be viewed from the outside, while the sanctuary and its surroundings are open to the public all year round.