Built between the 13th and 16th century, Castel Valer is known as one of the best preserved in the Alpine region.
Castel Valer is a medieval complex, located near the village of Tassullo in the Val di Non valley, at the feet of the mighty Brenta Dolomites. The castle consists of two medieval fortifications with Roman origins: this is confirmed by various archaeological excavations carried out around the octagonal granite tower. With its height of 40 metres, it is known as the highest tower in the entire Trentino!

Valer Castle has more than 100 chambers, rooms and halls, some of them are richly decorated, such as the “Sala degli Stemmi” or the “Sale Madruzziane”. The walls follow the octagonal ground plan of the main tower and enclose the Lower Castle, the oldest part of Castel Valer dating back to the 14th century, and the Upper Castle from the 16th century. Inside there is also a chapel dedicated to St. Valerius of Zaragoza. It is decorated with a beautiful cycle of frescoes done by the Baschenis brothers.

Since 1368, the castle has been owned by the Spaur family which still lives there. Since 2017 it has been possible to visit Castel Valer within a guided tour.

https://www.trentino.com

Castel Valer

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From the then medieval castle, only a dilapidated little tower is visible in the castle today.

The present form of Castel Nanno dates back to the wish of the Prince-Bishops Madruzzo, so it was rebuilt for summer stays in the middle of the 16th century. As a result, only little of the original castle can still be seen today. The square arrangement with the four corner towers surrounds the main tower in the middle.

Even if the atmosphere that surrounds the castle today seems very quiet, in the past Castel Nanno was the scene of dramatic events: legends say that terrible witch trials took place here. Even today, an inscription on a truncated column commemorates these times in the 17th century.

Today Castel Nanno can only be visited from the outside and is privately owned.

Castel Nanno

Castel Cles rises on a hill surrounded by orchards and woods, on the shores of Lake S. Giustina.

The castle was first mentioned in documents from the 12th century. It was Prince-Bishop Bernhard Cles who decorated and extended the castle and gave Castel Cles its current Renaissance style. In the course of the years, the castle was damaged several times. Especially at the time of the peasant uprising at the beginning of the 16th century it became the object of a raid. In 1825 a fire raged and one of the three towers had to be demolished. Other parts of the castle were not affected by this fire and like this frescoes by Marcello Fogolino from the 16th century have been preserved to this day.

Castel Cles is in private hands of the Barons of Cles and cannot be visited.

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Castel Cles

Castel Malgolo è uno dei tanti castelli dell'Anaunia, situato nell'omonima frazione di Malgolo nel comune di Romeno in Trentino-Alto Adige. Residenza privata, ammirabile solamente nella suggestiva cornice esterna, Castel Malgolo sorge lungo la statale che collega l'abitato di Romeno all'omonima frazione di Malgolo. Incorniciato dalla lussureggiante vegetazione circostante, il castello colpisce soprattutto per la sua duplice natura di fortezza medievale da un lato ed elegante residenza romantica dall'altro.

Castel Malgolo

The history of the castle is inextricably linked with the history of the noble Thun Family.
On a small hill near the hamlet of Vigo di Ton in the Val di Non valley towers the Thun Castle. Built in the middle of the 13th century, it served as the seat of a noble family called Thun, mighty feudal lords who acted on behalf of the bishop.

Castel Thun is an impressive half civil, half military building, featuring a sophisticated defensive system with strong towers and solid walls. Once you have passed the drawbridge, you will enter a stunning courtyard with 18 stone pillars and two medieval towers. On the other side a fascinating palace is rising, which is the oldest part of the castle.

With its precious furniture, the comprehensive library, the venerable halls and rooms, the collection of arms and the numerous tiled stoves the castle holds a great architectural and historical value. Moreover it boasts a rich green park, also used for organising concerts and other cultural events.



Castel Thun

The Castle is situated outside the city centre, near the village of Segonzone, in the middle of countryside in upper Val di Non where apples are cultivated. The original nucleus of the castle, represented by the tall pentagonal keep of the central building, dates back to the 14th century. The complex has two fortified entrances, protected by walls, which open into a wide safeguarded area where the keep and other buildings can be found. The residential estates will be used as public exhibition, cultural and representative centres, while the farm buildings will act as the reception area. The main building has six floors above ground as well as a basement. The castle has been owned by the municipality of Campodenno since the year 2000 and has undergone three important restoration projects to reinforce, restore and adjust it, and work will soon begin on the residential buildings. At the moment, the complex is open to the public and is used for events and exhibitions.
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Castel Belasi

In former times, the fortress controlled the events on the road through the valley from above. The castle was built in the 12th century and belonged first to the Caldès-Cagnò, later to the Thun. Near the complex, at the foot of the keep, the remains of a Gothic chapel from the 15th century are located.

Over the centuries the Rocca di Samoclevo lost its importance and was converted into a farmhouse in the 17th century or partly demolished. Today, however, parts were rebuilt. The ruins can be visited.

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Rocca di Samoclevo

The Castello di Altaguardia is one of the highest located castles of the Trentino at 1,280 m asl. and offers a fantastic panoramic view on the Val di Non valley.
The castle, quite recently rediscovered, was restored and made accessible to the public via a comfortable path. The path starts at the Rio Castello river, along the road which proceeds to Bresimo and leads straight to the castle in a 45-minute walk.

The Castello di Altaguardia took its name thanks to the strategic position at the slope of the Monte Pin mountain. The medieval castle was built on the remains of a prehistoric castle, which was used as a watchtower later. Originally the castle was in the possession of the Livo family but soon it came into the hands of the Thun family who transformed it into a residence. After numerous fires and riots, the castle was quit and as from the 18th century it was left to rot. So today only some wall remains of the ancient Castello di Altaguardia can be seen.

Castello di Altaguardia castle

Castel Sporo è un castello medioevale ormai in rovina che si trova nel comune di Sporminore in provincia di Trento.
Cenni storici
Le prime notizie del castello risalgono al 1165. Era posto a guardia della strada imperiale che collegava la Val di Non alle valli Giudicarie e del Sarca.

Nel 1312 vi si insediarono gli Sporo (attuali proprietari di Castel Valer) che lo abitarono fino al 1685 quando si trasferirono in altre residenze più comode e vicine ai loro affari. Nel 1720 iniziò il declino che ridusse il castello a un rudere.

Nel 2009 le rovine del castello sono state restaurate e rese accessibili al pubblico.

Struttura
La struttura del maniero era abbastanza imponente. Era composto da un mastio pentagonale, di cui oggi rimangono solo i primi 14 metri, e un cerchia muraria con quattro torri che racchiudevano gli edifici residenziali e una cappella.

Castel Sporo

Castel San Gottardo è un castello costruito prima del 1181. Esso si trova sopra l'abitato di Mezzocorona in Trentino.
Anticamente questo castello era denominato Corona di Mezo, e solo in seguito venne utilizzato il nome attuale. In realtà, con il termine "Mezo", si indicava tutta la pianura a destra e a sinistra del torrente Noce, dicesi derivante dalla lingua latina Mezo o Mez, ovvero "pianura" o anche "palude", nonostante il termine sia di origine prelatina. Il termine trentino "corona" deriva invece dalla parola tedesca Lueg e Loch traducibile con "buco". Il termine "crona" è invece la forma dialettale di corona, usato per indicare cenge e pare derivi dal termine celtico carn.

Il castello era dotato, e sono tuttora distinguibili, di un portone d'ingresso sopra al quale si trova ancora oggi lo stemma con il drago e le feritoie poste a difesa dell'accesso. Assieme al castello, si trovano anche i resti di un avamposto di difesa, quelli di un palazzetto dove probabilmente soggiornavano i conti Firmian, una fonte d'acqua e la chiesetta dedicata a San Gottardo, patrono del paese di Mezzocorona, e risalente al XIII secolo.

Si hanno tracce del castello nel 1181, quindi è probabile che questo esistesse già in precedenza. In effetti, nel 1158 i conti di Appiano sequestrarono ed imprigionarono il vescovo trentino Adalberto alla Corona di Mez. Il popolo trentino decise di liberarlo anche usando la forza, ma data la difficoltà di raggiungere il maniero, decisero di utilizzare il fuoco. Nel 1209, sotto la guida degli Arcoi e dei Beseno, alcuni ribelli coadiuvati dai vassalli Mez insorsero contro il vescovo Federico Vanga; occuparono quindi il castello di Povo, quello di Cedra e assediarono quello di Mez, che fu saccheggiato e depredato.

In seguito, con l'arrivo del Rinascimento, i castelli arroccati strategicamente come questo furono abbandonati in modo da favorire accessi maggiormente comodi. Quindi anche San Gottardo fu abbandonato e quando il conte Nicolò Firmian divenne possessore della giurisdizione di Mezzocorona, dopo aver sposato l'ultima erede della famiglia Mez, decise di far costruire ai piedi del precedente maniero il Castel Firmian, sicuramente più facile da raggiungere. Questo era dotato di una torre quadrata e di una cinta muraria ulteriormente protetta da fossati.

Sempre meno usato nel 1400, agli inizi del Cinquecento il castello era al tramonto della sua vita. Solamente alcune persone addette alla guardia o alcuni eremiti giungevano fin lì, in quanto accanto al castello si trovava un piccolo santuario dedicato a San Gottardo, il quale, secondo la leggenda del basilisco di Mezzocorona, lo aveva ucciso salvando i villaggi della Piana Rotaliana. Lì, dove viveva quest'essere, fu costruito l'omonimo castello.

Solamente fino agli anni 1525-1526 il castello recitò la sua ultima funzione di fortezza, quando vi furono le rivolte contadine e quindi fu anche dotato di cannoni; negli anni di seguito vennero riutilizzati per festeggiare ad esempio la festa del patrono paesano, San Gottardo. L'ultimo suo restauro risale al 1735, e da lì anche i pellegrini iniziarono a diminuire fino a che Giuseppe II li vietò.

Castel San Gottardo

Castel Belfort is located on the road between the municipalities of Cavedago and Spormaggiore.

The castle was built in 1311, when Count Heinrich of Tyrol gave the permission to build a tower with potential adjoining buildings. Today the castle is in ruinous condition, nevertheless it is still quite impressive and well-recognizable. The ancient crenellated tower is walled, from the building itself only the exterior stone walls have been preserved until today. Belfort Castle shows no medieval elements because it was destroyed in a terrible fire.

In the 17th century a new building was erected, but it was destroyed again in the Era of Napoleon.

The castle ruin is open to the public and can be visited.
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