Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Bassy, located in Haute-Savoie on a rocky promontory, dominates the confluence of the Usses and the Rhône. This strategic site once housed the Regonfle warehouse, a key place for the trade of salt and goods between the 17th and 18th centuries, transported to Savoie, Geneva and Switzerland.

Acquired in 1682 by François-Marie Carelli, master auditor at the Chamber of Accounts, the castle passed into the hands of the Carelli family for several generations. In 1785, Jean-Baptiste Carelli, senator and heir of an immense fortune, rebuilt it entirely to give it its present appearance. The latter, a prominent figure of the French Revolution in Savoy, became a member of the National Convention and acquired many national assets.

Under the First Empire, Jean-Baptiste Carelli, appointed imperial prosecutor and then general, was anobli Baron d'Empire by Napoleon in 1811. After his death in 1818, the castle was passed on to his daughter Amélie, wife of Baron Passerat de Silans, and then to the Costa de Beauregard family by marriage. In 1912, the estate was fragmented and sold, eventually becoming owned by the Tassinari family, the silky Lyonnais.

Architecturally, the castle presents itself as a large quadrangular building flanked by two square towers. Its history reflects the political and social upheavals of Savoy, between the Ancient Regime, Revolution and Empire, while remaining a local symbol of power and family prestige.

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