Murata (Bellinzona)

Section of the Murata, in the background the Castelgrande

Battlements in the Murata

The Murata ( Italian wall ) is part of the fortifications of Bellinzona , the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland . Together with the Castelgrande , the Castello di Montebello and Castello di Sasso Corbaro it belongs to UNESCO - World Heritage of the castles of Bellinzona . It is also a cultural asset of national importance

description

This obstacle connects to the west of the Castelgrande and follows the course of a natural rock ridge with slight changes in direction. His job was to block the valley between the castle and the Ticino river . The Murata consists of a crenellated double wall; in between there is an arched, grass-covered corridor that is almost two meters wide and four to five meters high. The foundations rest directly on the rock in the eastern part and on the Ticino bedrock in the western part.

history

After winning the battle of Arbedo against the Confederates in 1422, the Visconti , the rulers of the Duchy of Milan , had the Murata built in order to secure the previously unprotected part of the valley. According to a description from 1457, it was around 600 meters long, but it only had battlements on the north side. In 1478 the Confederates succeeded in breaking through the wall before the battle of Giornico ; but the subsequent siege of Bellinzona failed. The dilapidated Murata was then torn down and replaced by a new building in 1486/87 under the direction of the builder Gabriele Ghiringhelli.

A flood of the Ticino in 1515 tore away 150 meters of the Murata, and this section was not rebuilt. The Torretta , a mighty tower on the right bank of the river, was demolished around 1820. Another breach emerged in 1869 with the demolition of the Portone gate tower ; At this point, a passage bridges the street at the level of the battlements.

literature

• Werner Meyer, Patricia Cavadini-Bielander: The castles of Bellinzona . Ed .: Society for Swiss Art History (=  Swiss Art Guide GSK . Volume 866/867 ). Bern 2010, ISBN 978-3-85782-866-9 , p. 42-45 .
• Simona Martinoli and others: Guida d'arte della Svizzera italiana. Edited by the  Society for Swiss Art History , Edizioni Casagrande, Bellinzona 2007, ISBN 978-88-7713-482-0 .

Web links

Commons : Murata  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• World Heritage Site

Individual evidence

1. ^ Pierangelo Donati: La Murata di Bellinzona. (Italian) on e-periodica.ch; accessed on January 16, 2017.
2. ^ Murata and fortifications
3. ^ Simona Martinoli and others: Guida d'arte della Svizzera italiana. P. 21.

Coordinates: 46 ° 11 ′ 34 "  N , 9 ° 1 ′ 6"  E ; CH1903:  721,939  /  116937