Castelvecchio - worth seeing even without a museum

Castelvecchio in Verona is famous for its museum, but we are not really museum visitors at all. Maybe that’s because we’ve already seen a lot of exhibitions back home in Berlin.

The variety is so huge that during our travels we tend to visit smaller specialised exhibitions or leave it alone altogether. The Castelvecchio in Verona houses a museum with exhibits from the 7th – 17th centuries. The silverware from the 7th century and paintings by Rubens, Veronese and Tintoretto are said to be particularly remarkable. For fans, it is certainly more than worthwhile!

We walked leisurely along the Adige River and could enjoy the view of the Castelvecchio from afar. The imposing building, which was erected by Cangrande II della Scala between 1354 and 1356, stands directly on the river. The bridge over the Adige was intended to serve as an escape route for the castle’s inhabitants. Over the course of time, several changes were made to the castle.

The Venetians used the Castel as a fortress, occupation groups of the French and Austrians housed their barracks here. Since 1923, the Castel has been a museum.

The large medieval brick building consists of a perimeter wall and 6 towers. We were impressed by the battlements of the enclosing wall, which have an unusual shape and make the building something special.

After the Scaligers, Venetians, French and Austrians used the fortress before it was restored in 1923 and opened as a museum in 1925.
The museum can be reached via a freely accessible courtyard. From here you have a beautiful view of the Castel.

We were particularly impressed by the view through the entrance gate. First you see the tower, then if you go a little further you reach the Scaligero Bridge, which leads over the Adige River.