Desenzano Castle

Desenzano Castle, locally known as Castello di Desenzano, lies in the center of the town of Desenzano del Garda, in the Brescia province in the Lombardy region in Italy.

Desenzano Castle was built in the early 11th century, maybe on the site of an earlier Roman castrum or vicus. Around 1030 the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II ceded the castle to a rural count; Bosone I.

In 1220 the fiefdom of Desenzano was managed by the Confalonieri family. The castle and town passed to the Republic of Venice in 1426. The town of Desenzano experienced an economic growth after this, and in 1480 the castle was enlarged and strengthened. Some years later the castle was besieged by troops commanded by the Duke of Calabria, Alfonso II of Naples.

The town was held by several forces and states during the following centuries, who probably all used Desenzano Castle for their own purposes.

During the Third Italian War of Independence, in 1866, the Austrian navy bombarded the town. Most probably the castle then suffered damage too. In 1833, after the Unification of Italy it became property of the state and was used to house a military garrison.

Desenzano Castle is now used for cultural events and the gate tower and the wing next to it can be visited for a small fee. When I visited, the rest of the castle's interior was fenced off, probably because of restorations going on. A nice castle in a nice town.

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