Sabbionara Castle

P3

The Castello di Avio or Castello di Sabbionara ( in old German - language texts also lock Aue called ) from the 11th century is one of the oldest fortifications of Trentino. It is located above the Vallagarina ( Vallagarina ) in the municipality of Avio ( district Sabbionara d' Avio ) in the northern Italian province of Trento / Trient. The castle has since 1977 thanks to a donation by the Countess Emanuela di Castelbarcos owned by the Italian Foundation for Heritage and environmental protection.

History

Its geopolitical strategic importance owes Sabbionara d' Avio its geographical position: In the back of the hill Sabbionara d' Avio is protected by the mountains, while he overlooks the historically important fords of the running in the valley Adige. The Vallagarina, over which towers the castle, was one of the main routes between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, between the Po valley and the German Empire. Through them, led the ancient Via Claudia Augusta, which was built in 15 BC, following the course of which the modern north-south connections. The first historical sources in which the fortification named Castellum Ava is mentioned in Sabbionara d' Avio, date from the year 1053. During the 12th century, the castle of Castel Barco family, vassals of the bishop of Trent was. They left the castle by testamentary disposition in 1411 the Venetians. These extended the castle to a chapel in honor of St. Michael and decorated the facade with the arms of her Doge. In 1509, the castle fell into the hands of the Habsburg troops under Emperor Maximilian I, who had paint on the imperial coat of arms and the castle then as a mortgage, leaving the Count of Arco. There were other changes of ownership to the castle in the 17th century again came into the possession of Castelbarcos family. In 1977 gave Emanuela Castelbarcos, the granddaughter of Arturo Toscanini, the castle of the FAI, who restored it and then opened to the public.

Description

The castle consists of three wall rings that encircle the entire defense system in a ring. It has five towers, including the tower of picadora, where in the past, the death penalty was carried out by hanging. Its boundary line follows the sloping terrain and is therefore uneven. To the mighty donjon of the 11th century around there are several frescoed buildings, such as the guard house, the chapel, the palace of the barons, and the love room on the top floor of the keep itself The cycle of frescoes in the Love Room is an artist attributed from the Venetian - Emilian environment, who lived in the 14th century and whose works can be seen already in the Dominican church in Bolzano. The frescoes in the guard house, however, who have the art of war and chivalry on the topic, go back to an artist from the Trentino from the second half of the 14th century, which combines the style of Verona with stylistic elements of the northern Alps.

Bibliography

• L. Borromeo Dina (Ed.), Castello di Sabbionara d' Avio, Milano 2005
• L. Borromeo Dina (Ed.), Il libro del FAI, Milano 2005, pp. 17-37