Soiano Castle

Soiano Castle, locally known as Castello di Soiano, lies in the village of Soiano del Lago, in the Brescia province in the Lombardy region in Italy.

Situated on a 198 m high hill, Soiano Castle was built during the 10th century as a refuge for the locals in a reaction to raids of Hungarians frequenting the area. In Italian, these kinds of refuge castles are called a 'ricetto'. It may have been built upon a Roman predecessor.

I was not able to find any other historical information about the castle, only that the keep was converted into a bell tower for the local parish church during the 17th century. The dilapidated castle was first restored in 1937 and again in the 1980s.

Today, Soiano Castle, now being owned by the municipality, is being used for cultural events, mainly during summer. As I came by in spring, it was closed. Too bad, I would have like to visit its interior.

Soiano del Lago is situated in an area called Valtènesi. This area roughly encompasses the hilly lowland between the southwest bank of Lake Garda and the mountains. During the 10th and 11th century several settlements in Valtènesi built similar castles as Soiano; like Bedizzole, Carzago, Moniga, Padenghe, Polpenazze, and Puegnago. So, if you like castles, this is surely an area to visit.

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