logo

Castle of Sanguinetto

Built by the will of the Scaligeri family approximately in 1375, in 1376 the castle was donated by Antonio and Bartolomeo Della Scala to the lieutenant Jacopo Dal Verme, who in turn transferred it to his son Alvise. In 1452 the castle was confiscated from the Dal Verme family, accused of treason, and transferred to Gentile Della Lionessa, Captain of the Republic of Venice. After his death, the castle was willed to his daughters Nilla, Tirsa and Battistina and it was divided into “shares” transferred afterwards to the heirs. On 15th November 1509 the castle was seized and then looted by some troops of the League of Cambrai. Being originally supposed to defend the Mantuans, the castle consisted of a large courtyard protected by a crenellated wall, which was in turn protected by a moat filled with the water of the river Tregnon and there were four towers at each corner, other four middle still remaining towers, an entrance tower and a crenellated-tower-house. You can still see three noble coats-of-arms on the tower, in addition to the loop-holes, evidence of the presence of a drawbridge. Between the portal to the bridge and the ordinary doorway there is the “snapdragon” for the secret reports. The first transformation of the building took place towards the beginning of the fifteenth century, when the Dal Verme family turned the castle from a military building into a noble mansion. Thus were built a ground-floor loggia supported by marble columns in front of the entrance, vaulted rooms and an upstairs large hall with beautiful windows adorned with cotto tiles. In the first half of the fifteenth century another building was erected next to the castle and the access to it was via a double staircase. When the building no longer served as a fortress, it was turned into a mansion and remained divided among many owners until the end of the nineteenth century. Afterwards the Town of Sanguinetto could buy most of the complex and today most part of the building houses the town hall. On the contrary, the old manor-house still belongs to private owners and in the entrance hall there is a beautiful seventeenth-century stucco fireplace, adorned with arabesques, lion paws and jets of water; the protective eyes of St. Marco’s lion and Erasmo Da Nardi hang above it. Three legends are related with the castle: according to the first legend the castle was joined to the other fortresses in the area through some secret passages, the second legend mentions some bloody and violent acts committed by Jacopo Dal Verme between the fourteenth and fifteenth century and, according to the third legend, the playwright Goldoni drew the inspiration to write the comedy “Landlord” from some events which took place in Sanguinetto.

Dating

14th century

Address

Corso Cesare Battisti, 27
Sanguinetto (Verona)

Opening hours

You can visit only the part of the castle which is public property, during the opening hours of the Municipality of Sanguinetto.

Notes

Information on www.tourism.verona.it

For more information

Phone number: 0442-81066
Fax number: 0442-365150
E-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.comune.sanguinetto.vr.it