Soave Castle and Town

Soave is a beautifully preserved medieval walled town about 25 kilometres east of Verona, crowned by the Castello di Soave (Scaliger Castle) that rises dramatically on the hill above and gives its name to one of Italy's most famous white wines. The town's defining feature is its complete circuit of crenellated 14th-century walls, built by the Scaligeri lords of Verona, which still encircle the historic centre and climb the hillside to embrace the castle in one continuous fortified line, an unusually intact example of medieval military architecture in the Veneto. Within the walls, a compact grid of streets centres on Piazza dell'Antenna, lined with Venetian-Gothic palazzi, frescoed facades, wine bars, and the parish church. Visitors climb to the castle on foot or by car to explore its three courtyards, the keep (mastio), the residential Casa del Capitano with period furnishings, and the ramparts, which offer sweeping views over the red-tiled town and the surrounding sea of vineyards that produce Soave DOC and Soave Classico whites from the Garganega grape. A visit takes two to three hours, more if combined with a wine tasting at one of the cantinas and enoteche in and around the town. The best photographs capture the walls snaking up the hillside, taken from the vineyards below or from the castle ramparts at golden hour. The town is liveliest and most rewarding during the autumn grape harvest and the spring wine festivals, while summer afternoons can be hot. The castle charges a modest admission, but wandering the walled town is free. Set among the Soave hills in Italy's Veneto region, the town pairs naturally with the wineries of nearby Valpolicella for a wine-focused day trip from Verona.