Laghi
di Lamar
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Castles
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Castel
Toblino 
The most
famous castle in Trentino, it owes its fame to its unique location
and its lovely natural surroundings as well as to the many dark
legends that have taken root in that park and within those walls.
On the rocky spur that up until a few centuries ago was an islet
– the level of the lake was 2 metres higher – 2000 years
ago there "lived" the fairies to which in the 3rd century
a small temple was dedicated. This is "certified" by a
stone tablet cemented into the portico of the castle that the archaeologist
Paolo Orsi has defined as "a unique example of its kind in
Roman epigraphy".
 Soon
enough, however, the magic-religious function of the castle gave
way to the military and strategic one. The temple was replaced by
an austere fortress over the possession of which the local noblemen
battled at length. The castle we can admire and visit today is the
result of the rebuilding willed by Bernardo Clesio in the 16th century.
The manor was transformed into a residence much acclaimed by the
bishop-princes of Trento, and by the Madruzzo family in particular.
Indeed, the name of Carlo Emanuele Madruzzo, the last bishop-prince
of the dynasty of four who governed the diocese over 120 years,
became linked to the fiercest legends. They state that the bishop
had his niece Filiberta and brother Vittorio poisoned. They also
narrate that the lover of the bishop-prince was Claudia Particella,
who seems to have given the bishop several children. God’s
punishment for the bishop’s scandalous conduct soon arrived:
one evening Claudia and her brother were crossing the lake in a
boat to reach the castle, when the boat overturned and they drowned
miserably. In the nights with full moon the restless spirits of
the two victims still haunt the waters of the small lake.
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Castello
del Buonconsiglio
 This
castle is the symbol of the temporal power of Trentino’s bishops
and of Trento’s Italian character. The Castello del Buonconsiglio,
in the courtyard of which the Austrians in 1848 put to death the
21 Lombard volunteers who fought for the annexation of Trentino
to Italy and, during the Great War, the martyrs of Trentino’s
irredentism, Cesare Battisti, Fabio Filzi and Damiano Chiesa, acted
as the residence of the bishop-princes up until the Principality’s
secularisation in 1803. It dominates the city from a rocky spur
and today still seems to protect it, despite the disappearance of
the walls that ran from the castle all around the entire built-up
area. The hill was called "Dosso del Malconsey" in the
13th century, from the Latin corruption of Mall meaning public meeting
and Consilii (council), supposedly the meeting place of the community.
When the castle started taking shape, developing around the cylindrical
tower Torre Grande (or Torre d’Augusto), it was decided to
give it a more auspicious name, hence "Buonconsiglio"
(good council).
During the course of its existence the castle has undergone many
extensions and renovations. Between the 12th and 15th century, the
Castelvecchio portion developed next to the Torre Grande. In the
16th century, the Bishop-Prince Bernardo Clesio commissioned the
Magno Palazzo, a magnificent example of palace of a Renaissance
prince. The bishop-princes dwelt in the castle up until the beginning
of the 19th century, although on various occasions they were forced
to flee before wars and revolts. The entire complex is well worth
a visit, together with the Torre dell’Aquila and Torre del
Falco towers that originally were part of the exterior walls. Torre
dell’Aquila contains the breathtaking cycle of frescoes called
"dei mesi" (of the months) painted by an anonymous Bohemian
painter in the 15th century. They depict medieval life, month by
month, comparing the richness and splendour of the courts with the
fight for survival of the poor.
Today the Castle hosts the museum of the Italian Risorgimento and
of the fight for freedom, sections of archaeology and of ancient,
medieval and modern art. Its halls frequently play host to prestigious
exhibitions attracting thousands of visitors.
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Castello
di Arco
 The
imposing crenelated tower of this castle dominates the plain extending
towards the northern shores of lake Garda and guards the Sarca
valley to the north, the narrow crack between the mountains that
in past times was often crossed by armed forces marching in the
direction of the Po valley. The castle appears to tourists as
an impregnable and fascinating stronghold, surrounded as it is
by splendid and secular cypresses. But the attentive visitor walking
up through the fortified town of Arco will not fail to notice
the close link between the town and its castle, connected by increasingly
closer lines of walls that rise up along the rocky spur by cutting
through a splendid olive grove. Of the four gates once giving
access to the town, today only the Transfora (or Stranforio) gate
is visible. It once had a drawbridge, confirming the prior existence
of a moat circling the external walls.
 The
first mention of the existence of the fortified complex dates
back to the 12th century, to the legal fight for its ownership
between the Sejano and Arco families. In the end, the Arco family
won and became the castle’s owners, and occupied it until
the end of the 16th century, when they left the comfortless fort
for the more comfortable palazzos in Arco. The castle was then
forgotten for a long time until it was sacked and set on fire,
in 1703, by French marshal Vendôme’s troops retreating
after having besieged and bombarded Trento.
The Castle of Arco can be visited, and in summer it hosts musical
and theatrical performances. Of special interest is the look-out
tower inside which a cistern was excavated in the rock, so that
it would fill up with rain water that was then collected and conveyed
through lead piping to the castle.
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