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Castelvecchio (Italian: "Old Castle") is a castle in Verona, northern Italy. It is the most important military construction of the Scaliger dynasty that ruled the city in the Middle Ages. [1]
The castle is powerful and compact in its size with very little decoration - one square compound built in red bricks, one of the most prominent examples of Gothic architecture of the age, with imposing M-shaped merlons running along the castle and bridge walls. It has seven towers, a superelevated keep (maschio) with four main buildings inside. The castle is surrounded by a ditch, now dry, which was once filled with waters from the nearby Adige.
Castelvecchio is now home to the Castelvecchio Museum and the local officer's club which can be accessed through the left door on Corso Cavour.
The castle stands on the probable location of a Roman fortress outside the Roman city. Lord Cangrande II della Scala had it built along with its bridge across the Adige River as a deterrent to his powerful neighbors such as Venice, the Gonzaga and the Sforza families. [2] Construction was carried out between 1354 and 1376 (Cangrande died in 1359). The fortified bridge was intended to allow the seigniors to escape safely northwards to the Tyrol in the event of a rebellion or a coup d'état (the Scaligeri were allies of the Holy Roman Empire) and when they eventually lost their hold on Verona, its surviving members left Italy to found a German branch of the family.
Later, during the Venetian domination, the bridge was further fortified to defend it with cannons. The castle was damaged by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars (1796-7), in retaliation to the Pasque Veronesi, when the local population staged a violent anti-French revolt. Napoleon had chosen to stay in Castelvecchio on his trips to Verona, but his widespread and arbitrary requisitions of citizens' and churches' property, the massive draft of male workers into the French army prompted the resistance that eventually drove out the invaders.
The bridge was destroyed by the retreating German army in 1945 and rebuilt in 1949.
Under the Austrians, Castelvecchio was turned into barracks. In 1923 the castle was restored, as well as in 1963–1965.
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan on the edge of the Dolomites. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age. The lake and its shoreline are divided between the provinces of Brescia, Verona (south-east) and Trentino (north).
Verona is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in northeastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona covers an area of 1,426 km2 (550.58 sq mi) and has a population of 714,310 inhabitants. It is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy because of its artistic heritage and several annual fairs and shows as well as the opera season in the Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater.
The Adige is the second-longest river in Italy, after the Po. It rises near the Reschen Pass in the Vinschgau in the province of South Tyrol, near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland, and flows 410 kilometres (250 mi) through most of northeastern Italy to the Adriatic Sea.
The Della Scala family, whose members were known as Scaligeri or Scaligers, was the ruling family of Verona and mainland Veneto from 1262 to 1387, for a total of 125 years.
Cangrandedella Scala was an Italian nobleman, belonging to the della Scala family which ruled Verona from 1308 until 1387. Now perhaps best known as the leading patron of the poet Dante Alighieri, Cangrande was in his own day chiefly acclaimed as a successful warrior and autocrat. Between becoming sole ruler of Verona in 1311 and his death in 1329 he took control of several neighbouring cities, notably Vicenza, Padua and Treviso, and came to be regarded as the leader of the Ghibelline faction in northern Italy.
Villafranca di Verona is a town and comune in the province of Verona in the Veneto, Northern Italy.
Castelvecchio Museum is a museum in Verona, northern Italy, located in the eponymous medieval castle. Restoration by the architect Carlo Scarpa between 1959 and 1973 has enhanced the appearance of the building and exhibits. Scarpa's architectural style is visible in the details for doorways, staircases, furnishings, and even fixtures designed to hold a specific piece of artwork. The renovation carefully balanced new and old, revealing the history of the original building where appropriate. Unusual at the time, this approach has now become a common approach to renovation.
Events in the history of Verona, in Italy.
Soave is a small comune of the Veneto region in the Province of Verona, northern Italy, with a population of roughly 6,800 people.
Castelnuovo del Garda is an Italian comune (municipality), in the Province of Verona, in Veneto, on a couple of morainic hills few kilometers south-east from Lake Garda. Verona is about 20 km to the east, Venice is 140 km east and Milan 140 km west.
Lazise is a comune (municipality) and town in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 kilometres west of Venice and about 20 kilometres northwest of Verona. It is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Garda. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,213 and an area of 65.0 square kilometres (25.1 sq mi). This geographical location empowers a position of great landscape value, but it also features elements of great architectural value and of great historical importance.
Valeggio sul Mincio is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) west of Venice and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) southwest of Verona. It is crossed by the Mincio river.
Mestre is a borough of the comune (municipality) of Venice, on the mainland opposite the historical island city in the region of Veneto, Italy.
Cansignorio della Scala was Lord of Verona from 1359 until 1375, initially together with his brother Paolo Alboino.
Cangrande II della Scala was Lord of Verona from 1351 until his death.
The Scaliger Tombs is a group of five Gothic funerary monuments in Verona, Italy, celebrating the Scaliger family, who ruled in Verona from the 13th to the late 14th century.
The Castel Vecchio Bridge or Scaliger Bridge is a fortified bridge in Verona, northern Italy, over the Adige River. The segmental arch bridge featured the world's largest span at the time of its construction.
The Pont du Diable or Pont Vieux is a medieval stone arch bridge at Céret, France, built between 1321 and 1341. It spans the Tech River with a single arch of 45.45 metres (149.1 ft). At its apex, the arch is 22.3 metres (73 ft) high.
The Battle of Verona was fought on 18 October 1805 between the French Army of Italy under the command of André Masséna and an Austrian army led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. By the end of the day, Massena seized a bridgehead on the east bank of the Adige River, driving back the defending troops under Josef Philipp Vukassovich. The action took place near the city of Verona in northern Italy during the War of the Third Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars.
A bridge castle is a type of castle that was built to provide military observation and security for a river crossing. In the narrower sense it refers to castles that are built directly on or next to a bridge. Sometimes, however, castles close to a bridge are referred to as bridge castles.