Museo Castelvecchio ★★

The Castelvecchio is a mighty riverside castle turned into a painting gallery filled with Venetian Old Masters in Verona, Italy

A five-minute walk west of the Arena amphitheater on the Via Roma and nestled on the banks of the swift-flowing Adige River, the "Old Castle" is a crenellated fairy-tale pile of brick towers and turrets, protecting the bridge behind it.

The castle was commissioned in 1354 by the Scaligeri warlord Cangrande II to serve the dual role of residential palace and military stronghold. It survived centuries of occupation by the Visconti family, the Serene Republic of Venice, and then Napoléon, only to be destroyed by the Germans during World War II bombing.

Its painstaking restoration was initiated in 1958 by the acclaimed Venetian architect Carlos Scarpa, and it reopened in 1964. It is now a fascinating home to some 400 works of art.

The art museum in Verona's Castelvecchio

The ground-floor rooms, displaying statues and carvings of the Middle Ages, lead to alleyways, vaulted halls, multileveled floors, and stairs, all as architecturally arresting as the Venetian masterworks from the 14th to 18th centuries—notably those by Tintoretto, Tiepolo, Veronese, Bellini, and the Verona-born Pisanello—found throughout.

Don't miss the large courtyard with the equestrian statue of the warlord Cangrande I (a copy can be seen at the family cemetery at the Arche Scaligeri) with a peculiar dragon's head affixed to his back (actually his armor's helmet, removed from his head and resting behind him).

A stroll across the pedestrian bridge behind the castle affords you a fine view of the castle, the Ponte Scaligeri (built in 1355 and also destroyed during World War II; it was reconstructed using the original materials), and the river's banks.

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