Castelvecchio is a medieval fortress located in the historic centre of Verona, currently housing the Civic Museum of the same name. Once the military seat of the Scaligeri family, it is now a place of historical interest that contains some of the most beautiful works of art in the city, as well as being an architecturally interesting building.
In addition to being a vast fortress, Castelvecchio is the city’s most imposing monument. Built in the middle of the 14th century by Cangrande II della Scala, it had various uses over the course of time: under Venetian rule it was used as an arsenal and garrison; during the Napoleonic occupation it was built along the river; under the Austrians it was used as barracks for the occupying troops.
During the first decades of the twentieth century Castelvecchio underwent its first major restoration and was transformed into a museum (opened in 1923), the prestigious seat of the civic art collections. In 1944, the trial in which Galeazzo Ciano and the Fascist hierarchs who had deposed Benito Mussolini were sentenced to death was held here; in 1945 it was damaged by Anglo-American bombing. Since 1964, Carlo Scarpa’s design has made it one of Verona’s most important museums, with thirty rooms containing prestigious paintings and sculptures from the Middle Ages to the 18th century.