The Scaligero Castle or Scaligero Castle of Sirmione () is a fortress from the Scaliger era, access point to the historical center of

Sirmione Sirmione (Brescian: ; ) is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy (northern Italy). It is bounded by Desenzano del Garda (Lombardy) and Peschiera del Garda in the province of Verona and the region of Veneto. It has a historical centre ...

, on

Lake Garda Lake Garda (, , or , ; ; ) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Eastern Alps, Italian Alp ...

. It is one of Italy's best preserved castles. In 2019, it was the 22nd most visited attraction in Italy, with 308,459 visitors.

History

It was built in the latter half of the 14th century on the southernmost part of

in the

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

. Construction was initiated on behalf of the Della Scala family of Verona, who are known as the

Scaligeri The House of Della Scala, whose members were known as Scaligeri () or Scaligers (; from the Latinized ''de Scalis''), was the ruling family of Verona and mainland Veneto (except for Venice) from 1262 to 1387, for a total of 125 years. History ...

, from which it takes its name. The family ruled

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

and a large part of the Venetian area from the years 1259 to 1387. The castle was later controlled by the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

from the 15th century after the Della Scala family submitted to Venice in 1405. It continued to be an important fortification in the area. Its decline in importance began with the completion of the nearby fortress in

Peschiera del Garda Peschiera del Garda (; ; , ''Arilica'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Verona, in Veneto, Italy. When Lombardy-Venetia was under Austrian rule, Peschiera was the northwest anchor of the four fortified towns constituting the Quadrila ...

in the 16th century. It continued to be used as an armory and fortification until the

Unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

when it became the office of the local government of Sirmione. Restoration began after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1919, when it became a museum and tourist attraction. However, it was not fully restored until 2018 when the internal waters of the castle were cleared. The internal docks are the only surviving example of a 14th-century fortified port.

Note

External links

Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century Castles in Lombardy Tourist attractions in Lombardy Water castles Scaliger family {{Italy-castle-stub

History

See also

Note

External links