Toblino Castle

by Paolo Signorini

Title

Toblino Castle

Artist

Paolo Signorini

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Renowned for the romantic legends associated with it, and as the pleasure retreat of the episcopal court, Castel Toblino is a rare example, in Trentino, of lake fortification.
It was probably a prehistoric fort and Roman site, on an island in the middle of the lake which, due to the lowering of the water level later became a peninsula. It is a very old site, once occupied by a small temple dedicated to the worship of the Fates, as recorded in the rare 3rd century epigraph (walled under the northern portico of the castle). Its original religious function was soon replaced by a military function, given its strategic position. In the 13th century the castle passed from the hands of the lords of Toblino into those of the lords of Campo, who owned the castle bearing the same name in the Giudicarie (Castel Campo). Later on, the castle fell into the hands of the church of Trento (1495) and the Cardinal Bernardo Clesio had the place restored and rebuilt (1536-1537) on Renaissance lines, to become a lord´s residence: it was decorated by some of the artists working at the Magno Palazzo of the Castello del Buonconsiglio in Trento. The prevailing 16th century elements are due to the subsequent transformations (courtyard portico and loggia, round arches) ordered by Gian Gaudenzio Madruzzo. All that remains of the Medieval castle layout are the wall to the west, a turret to the north-west of the present enclosure and the 20 meter high cylindrical tower, which may be considered a keep, strengthening the fortifications closing the summit of the fortified rock.

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August 5th, 2023

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