Castles of Trentino: A Lifetime of Coming Back

When someone says the word castle, what do you think of? Fairy tales, princesses, kings, magical places far away and long ago? Now imagine being born into, and having lived in, a region with one of the highest densities of castles in Italy, where castles on top of hills, along lake sides, some perfectly preserved and some standing as ruins, were simply part of everyday life, woven into the school run, the bus or train trips to visit family, the weekend walk, without ever quite losing their sense of wonder. Let me open a window for you now, to look across my beloved Trentino Alto Adige, and show you some of these incredible places. We will encounter a romantic castle inhabited by fairies, a castle where you can walk among the belongings of those who lived there, a stronghold perched on a hill that commands the view over an entire valley, and much more. So let us start our journey.

As most of my family lived in Trentino and I used to spend a lot of time in Trento with my grandparents and extended family, Castello del Buonconsiglio and the towers in the city, as well as the medieval walls, have always been part of the scenery and therefore my attraction to these imposing structures.

Castello del Buonconsiglio, Trento

So perhaps the castle that is really my "home" castle is Buonconsiglio, not only because I visited it more times than I can remember, but also because in the last few years of her life my mother lived just across from it, so it was the castle I saw from her window. Buonconsiglio was built between 1239 and 1255 as a fortress, and for more than five centuries after that it was the residence of the Prince-Bishops of Trento, which makes it the largest and most important secular monument in the whole of Trentino. The oldest part, Castelvecchio, dates back to the twelfth century, and if you climb into its Torre dell'Aquila you will find one of the most beautiful things I know of in any castle anywhere, a Gothic fresco cycle called the Cycle of the Months, each month of the year painted as its own small scene of medieval life. Later, in the sixteenth century, the Magno Palazzo was added, a proper Renaissance expansion covered in its own frescoes, so that walking through Buonconsiglio today is really walking through several centuries of the city's history at once, which is perhaps why, of every castle I have known, this is the one that feels most like home.

La Rocca, Riva del Garda

La Rocca is the castle that was on my daily walk after school when I was a teenager, I would meet with friends there at school's end for a walk around the lake, or a visit to the library for homework, in summer it was a nice place for a stroll and an ice cream. When I return to the lake for my holidays, it is still a favourite meeting place, as well as a nice spot for a photo or simply sitting down to look out at the lake.

Unlike Buonconsiglio or Thun, La Rocca was never really built to be lived in. It rose in the twelfth century purely to defend the town from danger coming from the lake, a fortress rather than a home, and for most of its history that defensive purpose is really all it was for. The one real exception came briefly in the sixteenth century, when Alfonsina Gonzaga actually lived within its walls, a rare moment of a noblewoman calling this fortress home rather than simply a garrison protecting the town below it. Today it houses the MAG, the Museo Alto Garda, the main museum for the whole upper Garda area, so the same walls I walked past as a teenager heading nowhere in particular now hold centuries of the lake's own defensive history inside them.

Castel Toblino

I was still a young girl the first time I saw Castel Toblino. It was late autumn, and the air had that soft, cold weight that makes every colour feel deeper. The lake was very quiet, almost still, and a thin mist had settled over the water, blurring the line between sky and surface.

When we turned the corner on the road the castle appeared through the haze like something out of a storybook. It sat on its little rocky spur in the middle of the lake, surrounded by cypresses, with the walls as if floating on the misty water. For a moment I was not even sure if it was real.

Someone told me that long ago people believed fairies lived in this place. They said there was even an old stone with a Roman inscription built into the castle wall, proof that almost eighteen hundred years earlier a small shrine had been raised to the Fates and to the Fairies. I did not understand all the details then, but I understood the feeling: this was not just any castle. It was a place where the ancient world, with its spirits and gods, had slipped quietly into the present. I remember thinking that if fairies ever existed, they would have chosen exactly this: a small lake, a gentle climate from the nearby Garda, and a manor wrapped in legend and silence. I have been back there many times since that first magical apparition, and every time, the moment I walk inside the walls of the castle, I feel like I have walked through a magical door and entered a fairy tale. No wonder people often book this castle for wedding receptions, and among the castles in Trentino it is probably the most loved, because of its romantic and mysterious look.

Castel Thun, Val di Non

I had this castle on my "must visit" list for a long time, and when I finally arrived, I saw it appearing over the apple orchards, realising that no photograph I had seen had done justice to the building standing in front of me. Step inside and you feel less like a visitor and more like a guest invited by the noble Thun family themselves, since more than any other castle I have visited, Castel Thun still holds so much of the original family's own belongings, right down to a long table set with porcelain and glassware, as though everyone had simply stepped away a moment ago. I could easily write pages on this castle alone, and soon I will.

Castel Beseno

As you take the road that leads from Torbole sul Garda to Trento, you will not miss an enormous fortress stretched along the top of a hill, dominating the entire Adige Valley. That is Castel Beseno, the largest fortified complex in Trentino.

This is not a romantic castle nor an elegant residence of a noble family, but a castle that is there for one important reason, and as you look over from the ramparts and parapet walks, the view is breathtaking: a wide, 360-degree panorama over the Val d'Adige, the valley that leads toward the Folgaria plateau, and the neighbouring castles of Castel Pietra and Castel Noarna. Below, the valley unfolds with vineyards, orchards, and the ribbon of the Adige river, while above, the castle's bastions and walls trace a clear line against the sky. And then you understand why this place is there and why it was so strategic: from up here, you can see every approach, every movement, as if the whole valley were laid out on a map.

Castel Beseno may not be the most refined of Trentino's castles, but it is certainly the most imposing, and from its heights, the view alone tells you why it was worth defending for centuries. A visit to this castle is stepping into a time when strength and power had to be seen to be believed, when simply being visible from every direction was itself a form of defence.

Castel Arco

A little further along, above the town of Arco itself, sits a castle perched on its own rocky spur, mostly a ruin these days. The path to reach it winds its way through olive groves that have long been part of this landscape, and as you climb, the views keep opening up in the most beautiful way. First you see the Sarca Valley spread out below, then little by little the horizon grows wider until, in the distance, Lake Garda starts to appear. It is one of those walks where the journey up feels just as special as reaching the castle itself. Arco is a town I know well, known for its Habsburg villas and elegant Liberty-style buildings below, and this ruin has watched over all of it for centuries, another one of those castles that are part of my youth and life in this part of Italy.

Castello di Rovereto

As you approach Rovereto, a fortress dominates the town, unmistakable from almost any direction. This is the medieval castle that today houses the Italian Historical War Museum, and like Beseno, it belongs more to the region's military history than to any noble family's daily life. I have passed Rovereto so many times over the years that I could tell you almost exactly when the castle will appear on the left or the right, depending on which way I am travelling. My first visit was actually a school excursion, the way it still is for so many students in the region today, and I have been back countless times since, taking friends and family through it myself, each visit turning up something new to see. The last time we went was a cold, windy day, the kind of weather that somehow made it feel exactly right to get properly lost inside the castle and its remarkable collection of military memorabilia.

I could easily write a whole book on the castles of Trentino Alto Adige alone, and perhaps one day I will, but for now I will leave you with a tip: if you find yourself travelling from Verona to Bolzano in a train or by car, if you look out the window dotted along the way you will see many other castles on top of hills or peeking out from vineyards and orchards. Castles like Castel Avio, Castel Pietra, Castel d'Enna and many more, so enjoy the scenery and do your own castle spotting while you visit this part of Italy.

Between what I have shown you here and everything still waiting to be discovered out that train window, I hope this has given you the beginning of your own castle wish list for Trentino Alto Adige. And if you do find yourself standing at a ticket window, or asking directions to the next castle on your list, a little Italian goes a long way. If you would like to learn some before you go, you can try the first module of my course, Passo per Passo, completely free.