Castelvecchio (Verona)

About this place

Castelvecchio 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. The castle is powerful and compact, with very little decoration — a square compound built of red brick, 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 with four main buildings inside. The castle is surrounded by a ditch, now dry, which was once filled with water from the nearby Adige. Castelvecchio is now home to the Castelvecchio Museum and the local officers' club, which can be accessed through the left door on Corso Cavour. Look at the entrances, walls and surrounding terrain together. Their relationship helps explain how the site controlled movement and protected its occupants, while later alterations can reveal the shift from military stronghold to residence or monument.