Museo di Castelvecchio

The Museo di Castelvecchio is the principal art museum of Verona, housed in the Scaliger fortress on the Adige at Corso Castelvecchio 2, in the Veneto region of Italy. The fortress was built between 1354 and 1356 for Cangrande II della Scala, and the museum occupies its residential wing and courtyards. The collections span the medieval period to the eighteenth century and are particularly strong in Veronese art. Rooms of Romanesque and Gothic sculpture show carved capitals, tombs and fragments from Verona's churches, together with the original equestrian statue of Cangrande I, set on a concrete bracket above the passage to the keep. The picture galleries include works by Pisanello, Mantegna's circle, Paolo Veronese, Giovanni Bellini, Tintoretto and Tiepolo, as well as a rich display of Veronese altarpieces and panel paintings. Smaller collections include weapons and armour, goldsmiths' work, bronzes, ceramics and manuscripts. The route follows a broadly chronological order through the rooms on two floors, with the walls and bridge forming a separate part of the visit. The museum was redesigned by the architect Carlo Scarpa between 1958 and 1964, whose display design uses stone, steel, glass and wood in carefully lit settings, so that the art and architecture are read together. The building survived damage in the Second World War, and the Ponte Scaligero was rebuilt after 1945. Conservation of the paintings, sculptures and the fortress masonry is ongoing. Visitors can also walk on the battlements and cross the bridge for views of the river and the nearby Arco dei Gavi. The museum is operated by the civic museums of Verona and a combined ticket may cover other sites in the city.