Castello del Buonconsiglio, Trento

The Buonconsiglio Castle is the largest and most important monumental complex in the Trentino Alto Adige region. From the 13th century until the end of the 18th century, it was the residence of the prince-bishops of Trento, consisting of a series of buildings from different periods, enclosed within a wall perimeter in a location slightly elevated compared to the city. Castelvecchio is the oldest core, dominated by a massive cylindrical tower; the Magno Palazzo is the sixteenth-century extension in the forms of the Italian Renaissance, commissioned by the prince-bishop and cardinal Bernardo Cles (1485–1539); the Baroque Giunta Albertiana dates back to the end of the 17th century. At the southern end of the complex is Torre Aquila, which houses the famous Cycle of the Months, one of the most fascinating secular pictorial cycles of the late Middle Ages.

 

Especially due to the presence of vast cycles of frescoes, the internal decorative apparatus is of extraordinary interest, mainly created by the bishops in the late medieval and Renaissance periods. After the end of the prince-bishopric (1803) the castle was used as a barracks; restored, in 1924 it became the seat of the National Museum and since 1973 has belonged to the Autonomous Province of Trento. It is currently the main hub of a museum system consisting of five castles, among the most suggestive and prestigious in the Trentino territory: the castles of Stenico, in the Giudicarie Valleys, Beseno Castle, in the Adige Valley, between Trento and Rovereto, Thun Castle, in the Non Valley, and Caldes Castle in the Sole Valley refer to it.