Castelgrande

Castelgrande is one of the three castles located in Bellinzona that have been on the UNESCO world heritage site list since 2000. These castles were built by the Dukes of Milan in the 15^th century. The Castlegrande is the largest of the three castle complexes. There is a museum that you can tour on the inside, but as I was visiting off season on a Sunday, the museum was not open. However the castle grounds were open to walk through. I haven’t had so much fun roaming around castle grounds before. You could even climb the stairs of most of the outside complex stone walls and have a great view. It is quite a large area, and it was just fun to explore and to take in the history of the place, and to imagine all the people over the years who have visited the same complex. Castlegrande is located on a rocky peak overlooking the valley, with a series of fortified walls that protect the old city and connect to the second castle (Montebello). The third castle (Sasso Corbaro) is located on an isolated rock southeast of the other two. It is a bit of a climb to get to Castlegrande, but I hear there is a lift that is working when the museum is open. You also need to hike a bit to make it to the other two. Castlegrande was used to defend against intruders, and were army garrison’s, not meant for medieval prince and princess to live in. Definitely a beautiful place to explore and loose yourself in time.