Trieste Castello di Miramare

Between history and legend: 7 castles to visit in Italy in 2025


From north to south, Italy is dotted with a large number of fortresses and castles, rich in testimonies of the past and guardians of epic tales, court intrigues and romantic stories. With their castellated towers, imposing walls and that touch of mystery that never hurts, these fortresses offer a journey through time, between history and legend.

Pavia Castello Visconteo - Castels in Italy


From Lombardy to Friuli Venezia Giulia, from Emilia Romagna to Tuscany, from Marche to Puglia, here are seven castles in Italy, all waiting to be discovered.

1) Pavia – Castello Visconteo (14th Century)

We begin our journey in Lombardy, more precisely in Pavia, where we find the castle built by Galeazzo II Visconti between 1360 and 1365.

Designed as a court residence, the building is characterized by elegant mullioned windows in terracotta and by the refined decorative taste of the courtyard. It preserves traces of the medieval frescoes that embellished the rooms, porticoes and loggias, of which interesting testimonies remain: among these, the decoration of the Sala Azzurra, splendid with gold and lapis lazuli, and that one on the upper floor of the same tower.

Here was located, between the end of the 14th century and the following century, the Visconteo-Sforzesca Library, which is said to have been suggested by the great Italian Poet Francesco Petrarca during his stay as a guest of the Dukes of Milan.

Pavia Castello Visconteo - Castles in Italy

Among the most prestigious and rich libraries of the time, its history is intertwined with that of the Visconti and Sforza families, lords of the castle. With the collapse of the Sforza dynasty and the arrival of the French, in 1500, the library was partly transferred to France by King Louis XII, who selected 400 of the approximately 1000 codices preserved here. Of the remainder, many were lost and only a hundred are currently preserved in Italian and foreign libraries.

After a period as a barracks, in the twentieth century the castle was restored and used as venue of the Civic Museums and for cultural events and temporary art exhibitions.

A typical example of late Gothic Lombard architecture, the Castello Visconteo has a square plan, originally with corner towers. Inside it includes an elegant courtyard, with a porch supported by stone columns, while the exterior is surrounded by a garden with tree-lined avenues, created at the beginning of the 18th century.

Pavia - Castello Visconteo - Castles in Italy


2) Cicognolo (Cremona) – Villa Castello Manfredi (19th Century)

We remain in Lombardy, but we move a few kilometers east, entering the province of Cremona. Here, in the village of Cicognolo, stands Villa Castello Manfredi, an example of a romantic castle residence and, maybe, the most emblematic creation of this type of architecture.

The Castle was built in the year 1000, contextually with the fortification of the village, but what we can admire today is no longer the historic manor in its original structure, but rather the building erected between 1830 and 1840, designed by architect Luigi Voghera. A very active builder of buildings inspired by neo-medieval romanticism, Voghera built it following the directives of the marquis, with Spanish origin, Manfredi, from whom the manor takes its name, taking up the typical layout of Lombard castles.

Cicognolo Villa Castello Manfredi - Castles in Italy


The plan is quadrangular, completed by corner towers, a high central castellated tower and a large moat. The entire structure is in brick, with neo-Gothic and romantic architectural elements, such as the high ogival windows and twin single-lancet windows, with a large English park.

3) Trieste – Miramare Castle (19th Century)

Our journey discovering castles in Italy continues eastwards, towards Friuli Venezia Giulia region, to reach Trieste.

Just outside the town there’s the fascinating Miramare Castle, a unique place of extraordinary beauty, which stands out on the sea and dominates the Gulf of Trieste in a fusion of history, art and nature.

Miramare Castle was built between 1856 and 1860 as a residence for Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Habsburg, later Emperor of Mexico, and for Charlotte of Belgium. Designed by Carl Junker, the building is in the eclectic style typical of the time, which harmoniously combined medieval, Gothic and Renaissance elements.

Trieste Castello di Miramare - Castles in Italy

The Archduke personally supervised both the design of the residence and the layout of the vast park (over 22 hectares), an English and Italian garden, full of rare plants, sculptures and ponds, which descends with large steps towards the sea. The interior consists of numerous rooms, preserved almost intact and decorated with the original furnishings. Of particular value are the State Rooms, decorated with the imperial coats-of-arms, the private apartments of the Archduke, with an intimate and cozy atmosphere, the splendid “Maximilian Rooms”, the Music Room and the Throne Room.

Miramare Castle has hosted numerous significant visitors, including Princess Sissi, wife of Emperor Franz Joseph. Today it’s possible to visit the structure, which includes both the Historical Museum and the Miramare Castle Park.

4) Sala Baganza (Parma) – Rocca Sanvitale (14th Century)

Now, let’s move towards Emilia region and enter the Parma province. In the wonderful village of Sala Baganza is located an imposing medieval fortress, the Rocca Sanvitale, an ancient hunting residence surrounded by an enchanting Italian park, with well-kept gardens and panoramic views.

Inside the fortress, on the ground floor, we can admire the Pinacoteca, which houses numerous works of Italian Renaissance art, and the most precious jewel of the Rocca, the Diana and Atteone Small Room, frescoed by Francesco Mazzola, known as Parmigianino, in 1524.

Sala Braganza - Rocca Sanvitale -Castles in Italy

The Rocca preserves precious frescoes and stuccoes; it’s possible to admire artworks by Cesare Baglione, Ercole Procaccini, Orazio Samacchini, the Palatine Chapel and the eighteenth-century Oratory of the Assumption.

Furthermore, in the suggestive cellars and in the former icehouse of the castle has been set up the Wine Museum, an exhibition and sensory itinerary dedicated to the wine of Parma, its history and its culture.

5) Fosdinovo (Massa Carrara) – Malaspina Castle (12th Century)

We go now towards Tuscany, in particular to Fosdinovo, a village in Massa-Carrara area.

Here, in the heart of Lunigiana, stands the Malaspina Castle, a fascinating and imposing fortress with a quadrangular plan with four round towers, a semicircular bastion, two internal courtyards, patrol walkways above the roofs, hanging gardens, loggias and terraces, from which you can enjoy an enchanting panorama. The Castle currently houses a museum, a cultural center dedicated to the production and promotion of contemporary arts as well as a residence for artists and writers.

Dante Alighieri, who stayed in Lunigiana for over a year, at the Malaspina Court, was also a guest at the Fosdinovo Castle. It’s still possible to visit what was his room, adapted from an ancient chapel and since then called Dante’s Room.

Tolentino Castello della Rancia - Castles in Italy

6) Tolentino (Macerata) – Rancia Castle (14th Century)

Let’s go south-east, towards the Marche, where, in the province of Macerata, we find the Rancia Castle.

This castle is a quadrangular building, consisting of a castellated wall reinforced by three corner towers. One of the towers is placed to defend the main entrance, which was accessed via a drawbridge, later replaced by a brick one.

In 12th century, a fortified granary-farm already existed in the place, dependent on the powerful Abbey of Fiastra but, between 1353 and 1357, it was converted into the current castle by order of Da Varano’s, Lords of Camerino.

Tolentino Castello della Rancia - Castles in Italy

The Rancia Castle owes its name to the ancient granary, called “grancia”, from the Latin “granica”, used by the Cistercian monks of the nearby Abbey of Fiastra at the end of 12th century.

Some sources, although unconfirmed, claim the presence of a cistern in the center of the courtyard where many of the dead caused by the Battle of Rancia in 1815, a conflict between Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples and Austrian Empire, were buried. Fun fact: according to a legend, there’s a hidden tunnel that would connect the castle to the Basilica of San Nicola in the municipality of Tolentino.

The structure is currently temporarily closed for renovation work, which began in 2024, necessary to repair damages caused by the 2016 earthquake. The expected duration of works, which began in 2024, is about six months, so it should reopen in 2025: to be certain, always best check the castle’s website before planning a visit.

7) Andria – Castel del Monte (13th Century)

Let’s now move south, towards Puglia. In Andria, in the heart of the Murgia zone, we find Castel del Monte, a splendid fortress with an unmistakable octagonal shape.

Andria Castel del Monte - Castles in Italy

Built by Frederick II of Swabia on the top of a hill, in a strategic position for the control of the territory, Castel del Monte had a central role in the communication system between the fortresses of the Frederick system. Included by UNESCO among the World Heritage Sites and extremely evocative, this building was an element of representation and symbol of imperial power.

As for the structure, on each of the eight edges of the perimeter there are eight towers, also octagonal. This shape is also found in the courtyard, characterized, like the entire building, by the chromatic contrast resulting from the use of materials such as coral breccia, limestone and marble. There were also ancient sculptures once present, of which today only the slab depicting the Procession of Knights and a Fragment of an anthropomorphic figure remain.

Inside, 16 trapezoidal rooms, distributed over two floors, are connected by three spiral staircases inserted in as many towers. Some of them house cisterns for collecting rainwater, partly also conveyed towards the cistern dug into the rock, below the central courtyard.

Nowaday, interesting evidence of the original decorations remains, including mosaic tiles, majolica tiles, glass pastes and wall paintings, statues, anthropomorphic shelves, telamons, as well as a fragment of the floor mosaic.

These are just a few of the many castles in Italy, known or all to be discovered, including at special openings, events or exhibitions.