Buonconsiglio Castle () is a castle in
Trento
Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...
, northern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
History
The castle originated from a fortified building that was erected in the 13th century next to the city's walls. This first building was called Castelvecchio (literally, 'old castle'), and was the seat of the
Bishopric of Trent from the 13th century onwards to the end of the 18th century.
The castle is composed of a series of buildings of different eras, enclosed by a circle of walls in a slightly elevated position above the town. The, as called, Castelvecchio is the oldest and most dominant building of the entire housing development. The Magno Palazzo is the sixteenth expansion in the forms of the
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...
, wanted by the
Prince Bishop and Cardinal
Bernardo Clesio
Bernardo Clesio (; 1 March 1484 – 30 July 1539) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), Cardinal, bishop, diplomat, humanist and botanist.
Born in Cles, in the Prince-Bishopric of Trent, today Trentino, he graduated from the University of Bo ...
(1485-1539), the third part, in the southern end of the complex is the known Eagle tower, which preserves the famous Cycle of the Months, one of the most fascinating pictorial cycles of profane late Middle Ages.
Bishop
George of Liechtenstein
George may refer to:
Names
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
People
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE
* George, stage name of Gior ...
was the first to enlarge the castle, in the late 14th century, turning it into a well-styled residence. The Castelvecchio was further modified by
Johannes Hinderbach, who had the double
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
Gothic entrance gate built. In the first decades of the 16th century, Bishop
Bernardo Clesio
Bernardo Clesio (; 1 March 1484 – 30 July 1539) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), Cardinal, bishop, diplomat, humanist and botanist.
Born in Cles, in the Prince-Bishopric of Trent, today Trentino, he graduated from the University of Bo ...
had a new residence, called ''Palazzo Magno'' ("Grand Palace") built in
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
style alongside the old castle. The last great addition was the so-called ''Giunta Albertiana'', from the name of Bishop
Francesco Alberti Poja (1686), with which the Castelvecchio and the Palazzo Magno were united.
The castle remained the seat of the Prince-Bishops until 1803. Used by the
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
ns as military barracks and, later, as a jail, it decayed. In the 1920s, when Trento was returned to
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, it became seat of a National Museum and was restored. Since 1992 it is home to the Provincial Gallery of Art.
According to legend, it was connected by a secret tunnel to the
city's cathedral, which allowed the prince-bishops to move unseen between them.
In 2015, rights were granted for the first time to film inside the castle, for
Sebastiano Serafini
Sebastiano Serafini is an Italian singer, songwriter, actor, and model. Serafini has worked in different countries including Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, Germany, and Thailand – where he made an appearance as the final MC at the 2013 You2Play Awar ...
's music video for his single "Akane".
Loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
of Buonconsiglio Castle
Interior
The interior halls have precious frescoes, including those in the ''Torre Aquila'' ("Eagle Tower"), which are one of the most noteworthy examples of
International Gothic
International Gothic is a period of Gothic art that began in Burgundy, France, and northern Italy in the late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread very widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period, which was introduced by the ...
art in Europe: they represent the "Cycle of the Months" (15th century) and were made by Mistr Václav (master Wenceslas) from Bohemia. The cycle is interesting also for its accurate portrayal of the landscape, the economic activities, the habits and the fashion of Medieval
Trentino
Trentino (), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento (; ; ), is an Autonomous province#Italy, autonomous province of Italy in the Northern Italy, country's far north. Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the Regions of Italy, region of Tren ...
. The walls of ''Torre del Falco'' (late 16th century) have frescoes with hunting scenes, also a rare example of German landscape painting in northern Italy.
The decoration of the ''Palazzo Magno'' (Big Palace) section was commissioned in the early 16th century by prince-bishop Bernardo Clesio.
Dosso Dossi
Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri, better known as Dosso Dossi ( 1489–1542) was an Italian Renaissance painter who belonged to the School of Ferrara, painting in a style mainly influenced by Venetian painting, in particular Giorgione and early Tit ...
and his brother Battista painted the frescoes in the ''Sala Grande'', ''Sala degli Specchi'', the ''Camera del Camin Nero'', the ''Stua della Farnea'' (the refectory), the Library and others.
Girolamo Romanino
Girolamo Romani, known as Romanino ( – ), was an Italian High Renaissance painter active in the Veneto and Lombardy, near Brescia. His long career brought forth several different styles.
Biography
Romani was born in Brescia. His early trai ...
frescoed, among the others, the loggia in the Lions' Court (''Cortile dei Leoni'') with typical Renaissance themes, such as mythological or ancient Roman episodes, as well as biblical ones, and others from daily life. He also painted a portrait of Bernardo Clesio in the ''Sala delle Udienze'' ("Audience Hall"), accompanied by those of members of the Habsburg family (for which Clesio had worked as a diplomat).
The castle is home to the collection of Major
Taddeo de Tonelli including a mummified cat.
See also
*
Trent Codices
References
Sources
*
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Buonconsiglio
Art museums and galleries in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Museums in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Palaces in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
13th-century establishments in Italy
Medieval Italian architecture
Buildings and structures in Trento
Prince-Bishopric of Trent