Castello Scaligero di Malcesine Historical Timeline

Origins

The rock was fortified long before the castle: a Lombard-era stronghold stood here, and the site controls the narrowest, most defensible stretch of the upper lake.

Turning points

The Scaligeri of Verona rebuilt it in the fourteenth century as part of the chain of lake castles -- Malcesine, Torri del Benaco, Lazise -- that let them control a waterway which was both a trade route and a frontier.

Influential people

After the Scaligeri fell, the castle passed to Venice, and then in 1797 to Austria, which used it as a barracks and store rather than a fortress.

Cultural evolution

In 1786 Goethe, travelling south, stopped to draw the castle and was detained by locals convinced he was mapping the fortifications for Austria. He recorded the whole comic business in Italian Journey, and Malcesine has never stopped mentioning it.

Present-day significance

The castle is now a museum, with a room devoted to Goethe, a natural history section on Monte Baldo, and a display on the Venetian galley haul of 1439.