Castello Scaligero di Malcesine

Castle Lake Garda, Italy

The castle is believed to have been built in 568 ad. A maze of narrow, winding streets leads down to the water’s edge. The focal point of Malcesine is the pretty port. Behind the town is Monte Baldo, which is the highest mountain in the Lake Garda area.

As you enter in the castle you can find the "Casermetta" on the left, where the castle's guard used to live. The lower ground floor and the ground floor host the Natural history museum. An external staircase leads you to the first floor where exhibits and wedding ceremonies are held. The Natural history museum, was refurbished in May 2008 to offer visitors an original interactive multimedia approach turning the visit into a complete experience involving any of the five senses, in fact the guests can watch but also touch, smell, listen or use a touch screen. The new set-up presents objects as works of art, shows and revisits themes, employs choreographies, including the landscape that the visitors can see from the windows. At the end of the courtyard, there's a small balcony, placed at 24 m of height offering a wide and suggestive view of both the lake and the surrounding mountains. Going up on a flight of stairs, there's the gunpowder magazine built up by the Austrians. Today this area has been turned into the Goethe room, where the sketches of the Lake and of the castle drawn by the author during his Italian Journey are displayed. Goethe reproduced in his drawings the authentic colours of the landscape which became the starting point for his "Theory of colours". Outside, in a contemplative corner of the small garden, there's the poet's bust. From here, going further up, you get to the second courtyard, called Rivellino, where you can admire the town, the lake and the western side of Mount Baldo.