Arco castle ruins

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Arco castle ruins
The Arco Castle painted by Albrecht Dürer in 1495

The Arco Castle painted by Albrecht Dürer in 1495

Creation time : around 1000
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: ruin
Standing position : Count
Place: Arco
Geographical location 45 ° 55 '18 "  N , 10 ° 53' 15.5"  E Coordinates: 45 ° 55 '18 "  N , 10 ° 53' 15.5"  E
Height: 273  m slm
Arco castle ruins (Trentino-South Tyrol)
Arco castle ruins

The castle ruins Arco or Castle Arch is a castle ruin above the municipality of Arco in the province of Trento in northern Italy, above the lower Sarca valley.

location

View from Arco Castle into the Sarca Valley

The Arco castle ruins are located on the striking rock mountain ( 273  m slm ) above the municipality of Arco and the Sarca Valley . It is part of a ridge running to the north and separated from the following Colodri mountain by a deep notch. The castle hill drops vertically over a hundred meters to the Sarca valley, while the rock merges more gently into the valley to the south and west. In the north and northwest, the rocky slopes are much steeper. The castle strategically secured the narrow Sarca valley, which, in addition to the access via the Passo San Giovanni near Nago-Torbole, represents the second land access to northern Lake Garda .

The castle can be reached from Arco via several paved paths in around twenty minutes. The path leads through the olive groves below the castle. There is also an ascent and descent from Laghel, which roughly corresponds to the old castle road. The difference in altitude is 120 meters.

history

The castle hill of Arco was settled before the Middle Ages. The use of the mountain as a castle by local nobles around the year 1000 is certain. At the foot of the castle hill, a small settlement developed to the west and south, the origin of the later municipality of Arco. In 1196 Federico von Arco declared in a document that the castle was a feudal property of the inhabitants of Arco. A little later, the noble family of the Counts of Arco became the sole owners of the castle. In 1253 Riprando von Arco left the upper part of the castle ( Old Castle ) to the Ghibelline feudal lord Ezzelino da Romano , who handed over the castle part to Sodigerio di Tito, city administrator of Trento . After recognition of the feudal lordship of Count Meinhard II of Tyrol in 1272, the Counts of Arco regained the castle. The castle was besieged during several medieval feuds, such as Messrs Seiano , Lodron and the troops of the Republic of Venice . However, it could never be taken by them, so that it was considered impregnable.

In 1349 the Bishop of Trento drove the counts away and gave the castle to the Scaligeri family . However, the Veronese occupation was driven out by a popular uprising and Count Niccolo von Arco regained control of the castle. Albrecht Dürer painted the castle in 1495 as a watercolor. In 1542 the castle was badly damaged in a fire. In July 1579, Ferdinand II, in his role as Archduke of Tyrol, had the castles Arco and Penede near Nago occupied by his troops. In 1614 the Burgraves of Arco were able to return to Arco after the feud ( Capitolate ) had ended after they recognized the suzerainty of the Archduke. From 1665 to 1675 Stefano Voltolino carried out numerous restoration and reconstruction work on the castle. In 1680, however, the Counts of Arco were finally ousted by Emperor Leopold I. During the War of the Spanish Succession , the French General Vendôme was able to occupy the lower Sarca Valley and besieged the castle. After heavy bombardment, the occupation finally surrendered in August 1703. After that, the castle quickly fell into disrepair, and the Burgraves of Arco also left the place and later split into a Bavarian and a Mantua- based branch.

In 1927, the last of the Italian line, Countess Giovanna d'Arco, married Marchesa Guidi di Bagno , bought the castle grounds and became the sole owner. The castle area later became the property of the Mantua- based foundation of the Arco family. In 1982 the municipality of Arco acquired the castle. In 1986, the Province of Trentino's Monument Preservation Office initiated extensive security and renovation work under the direction of the architect Falvio Pontalti. The castle towers Großer Turm, Rengheraturm and the tower to Laghel were secured and the wall ring consolidated. The old tournament ground and the old Burgstrasse were also exposed. During excavations, the remains of two former buildings and two cisterns came to light. In one building, some frescoes were exposed and renovated. They show scenes of the game with ladies and knights.

buildings

The rock prison or dungeon
The rock prison is an artificially enlarged rock cave in the lower part of the castle. This is obtained downwards by filling a crevice in the rock. The prison has a smaller window and was previously closed by two doors. The last door to the dungeon had a flap through which the prisoner was taken care of.


Castle
walls Due to the favorable location of the castle above the Sarca valley, larger walls only had to be built to the south and east. some of them were up to ten meters high and two meters thick. They are two-walled sloping to the south and protect the castle from attacks from the west and south. The walls are also called Rivellino . At the west corner there was a larger observation tower Guarda di Mezzo .

Cisterns
In order to supply the castle with water independently during sieges, two large cisterns were created in the castle, as the construction of a well would have been quite time-consuming. The cisterns were exposed again during the reconstruction of the castle.

Main tower
The Romanesque building should date from the 1300s. Clearly visible are the still existing battlements, which represent the typical architectural style in northern Italy at the time. Similar Castles who built Scaliger further south on Lake Garda. Only the outer wall of the tower itself (without the north wall) has been preserved. The three-story tower is likely to have been a residential tower.

Rengheraturm
The Rengheraturm is the oldest tower in the castle. It is the function of the dungeon classified. It is located at the highest point of the castle hill. The walls of the previous building can still be seen on the base of the building. The entrance to the tower is about seven meters high; it could only be reached via a wooden ladder. In the tower there was a Renga bell , which could be used to warn the castle and the place in case of danger.

Watchtower to Laghel
The tower represents the
furthest point of the castle towards the north. It is a square brick and relatively well-preserved functional building.

additional

  • On the north-west side there is a holm oak grove .
  • Two extremely difficult climbing routes were developed on the steep east side of the castle hill. However, these have now been blocked for climbing.

literature

  • Municipality of Arco (ed.): Guide to the Castle of Arco. oA
  • Daniele Lorenzi: Castles and palaces in Trentino and South Tyrol. Milan oA
  • Roberto Donati: Castles of Trentino and South Tyrol. Narni 1977

Web links

Commons : Burg Arco  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files