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Overview
The Scaliger castle, known as Castelvecchio, was built by Cangrande II della Scala in 1354, on the right bank of the Adige, incorporating the communal walls, the Porta del Morbio and the church of San Martino in Acquaro. The castle is composed of two fortified wings around the battlemented bridge, built to control the entrance and exit of the ancient urban ring road connected to the route toward Trento.
The two functional sections were the rectangular-plan military stronghold used for troop accommodation and the fortified residence, connected to the keep tower, completed in 1376. The castle became the seat of the Civic Museum in 1926 on the initiative of Antonio Avena, and was furnished in a Neo-medieval style, becoming an important example of organic connection between architectural space and exhibition function.
In 1945, the retreating German troops blew up the Castelvecchio bridge, which was rebuilt in the postwar period by superintendent Pietro Gazzola. In 1958, the new director Licisco Magagnato commissioned architect Carlo Scarpa to design a contemporary museum layout.
The result, internationally recognized, enhances the dialogue between container and content, recalling the language of artists like Klee, Mondrian, and Burri. The exhibition route unfolds through interior rooms and courtyards, including early medieval relics, a significant collection of 14th-century sculptures with masterpieces by the Master of Santa Anastasia, Scaliger goldsmith works, and pieces by Pisanello, Crivelli, Bellini, Mantegna, Caroto, and Veronese.
