Things to do in Italian Alps, Italian Alps: The Best Castles

This impressive castle built in the 14th century houses a fine art gallery.

The Angera Fortress stands majestically on a spur of rock that dominates the southern shore of Lake Maggiore, on the Lombardy side. Placed in a strategic position for the oversight of movement and trade, this property initially belonged to the Visconti family and was bought by the Borromeos in 1449. It is now the perfectly harmonious result of five different buildings: the tower, or Torre Castellana, the Scaligera wing, the Viscontea wing, the Giovanni Visconti tower, the Borromeo wing. The hall of Justice is a surprising room, entirely frescoed shortly after the battle of Desio in 1277 by "Maestro di Angera", where human affairs are related to astrological influences. Founded in 1988 by Princess Bona Borromeo Arese, the Museum of Dolls and Toys shows more than one thousand pieces among dolls and toys crafted since XVIII. Outdoors, next to the ancient church, is the Medieval Garden: medicinal plants grow next to ornamental plants.

The Buonconsiglio Castle is the largest and most important monumental complex of the Trentino Alto Adige region. It was the residence of the prince-bishops of Trento from the 13th century to the end of the 18th century, and is composed of a series of buildings of different eras, enclosed by walls and positioned slightly higher than the city. Castelvecchio is the oldest nucleus, dominated by an imposing cylindrical tower; the Magno Palazzo is the 16th century expansion in the Italian Renaissance-style as commissioned by the Prince-Bishop and Cardinal Bernardo Cles (1485-1539); the Baroque-style Giunta Albertiana dates from the end of the 17th century. At the extreme south of the complex is the Torre Aquila, within which is conserved the famous Cycle of the Months, one of the most fascinating secular pictorial cycles of the late Middle Ages.

Among the most famous of the castles in the Aosta Valley, Fenis strikes visitors with its triumph of towers and crenellated walls. The castle sits on flat ground, which is unusual; Aimone de Challant improved it by building an impressive defensive system, which also features double curtain walls. However, more than being a fortress, the Fenis castle was a prestigious and refined residence: the courtyard and the rooms inside are rich in frescoes - the result of a decorating campaign started by Aimone’s son, Bonifacio in all likelihood. Not to miss is the famous St. George slaying the dragon by Jacquerio and his school, on the stone semicircular courtyard staircase. Many of the furnishings present, which are not original to the castle, were purchased by Alfredo d’Andrade, then Superintendent of Fine Arts, who supervised the restoration work at the end of the nineteenth century thus restoring the castle to its former glory.

Runkelstein Castle lies on a porphyr rock and overlooks the city of Bolzano. Its construction began in the year 1237 by order of the nobles Friedrich and Beral von Wangen. However, its moment of glory was the year 1385, when the castle was acquired by the bourgeois brothers Franz and Niklaus Vintler. Up to the present day Runkelstein Castle hosts the largest cycle of secular medieval frescoes.

Opening hours of Castle Tyrol: from 15th March to 8th December 2019 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Mondays.

APRIRA' AL PUBBLICO qualora LA REGIONE VALLE D'AOSTA SIA "ZONA GIALLA" con orario continuato 10-17 nei soli giorni feriali, secondo le disposizioni MIBACT - With its pointed turrets standing out from the surrounding woods, the castle of Queen Margarita of Savoy looks straight out of a fairy tale. Though it was built on models of the late Middle Ages, it dates from the early Twentieth century. It was then equipped with the latest technical equipment of that time, and it is surrounded by a large park with all the dependencies and a rocky Alpine garden with many botanical species. The interior still shows part of the original furnishings: paintings, stained glass, wood panelling, coffered ceilings and furniture made according to the taste of the Queen, she is evoked in all its parts by the flower bearing her name. The tour includes the ground and the first floor, connected by a spectacular wooden staircase with griffins and eagles.