CastelBrando, former Castrum Costae, is a medieval castle situated on a dolomite limestone rock at an elevation of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

, overlooking the villages of

Cison di Valmarino Cison di Valmarino is a village and ''comune'' with 2,613 inhabitants in the province of Treviso, Veneto, north-eastern Italy. It is a member of the I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy") association. The village was ...

and Valmareno, Northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The name ''CastelBrando'' is due to the name ''Brandolini'', the ancient family from

Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna. The city is situated along the Via E ...

, who were the Lords of the castle.

History

CastelBrando was originally built in the

Roman age In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

as a defensive fortress in order to protect the important lines of communication which connected

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

to the countries on the other side of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. Originally there was a

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

here protecting the territory between the Piave and the Livenza rivers in order to facilitate the safe construction of the pre-alpine part of the

Via Claudia Augusta The Via Claudia Augusta is an ancient Roman road, which linked the valley of the Po River with Rhaetia (encompassing parts of modern Eastern Switzerland, Northern Italy, Western Austria, Southern Germany and all of Liechtenstein) across the A ...

, an important Roman road, which linked the valley of the Po River with Rhaetia (modern Austria). Laura Colomban: 2009 The original

castrum In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...

, dating from 46 AD is still visible today. A recent archaeological excavation has uncovered a diameter bread-oven within the castrum, dating from the same period. The original Roman baths have also been excavated, as have the original pipes of the aqueduct which supplied water from three nearby

natural springs A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh w ...

. These springs still provide water for the castle today. During the European Migration Period the fortress became an important defensive position against barbarian invasions. Over the centuries the castle has been subject to numerous enlargements and renovations. During the 13th century the castle was substantially enlarged while under the ownership of the Da Camino family, who lived there from 1233 to 1335. Their architectural additions included surrounding the castle with imposing Guelph-Ghibelline style battlements and building a central tower.

Gherardo III da Camino Gherardo III da Camino ( 1240 – 1306) was an Italian feudal lord and military leader. He is generally considered the most outstanding member in the da Camino family. Biography He was born in the family castle in Credazzo (or Padua), the second ...

, the great Italian feudal lord and military leader was born in the castle in 1240. The Castle's ownership then passed over to the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

, which awarded the Castle's

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

dom first to Marin Faliero and then to the

condottieri ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europ ...

Giovanni Brandolino and

Erasmo da Narni Erasmo Stefano of Narni (1370 – 16 January 1443), better known by his nickname of Gattamelata (meaning "Honeyed Cat"), was an Italian '' condottiero'' of the Renaissance. He was born in Narni, and served a number of Italian city-states: he b ...

, better known as "Gattamelata". After the fall of Venetian Republic in 1797, it was passed down through the family of Giovanni Brandolino and became the property of the Brandolini Counts, an ancient family from

. In the first half of the 16th century Antonio Maria Brandolini (1476–1522), commissioned skilled engineers to enlarge the central part of the castle in Sansovino style, adding

Venetian Gothic Venetian Gothic is the particular form of Italian Gothic architecture typical of Venice, originating in local building requirements, with some influence from Byzantine architecture, and some from Islamic architecture, reflecting Venice's trading ...

double and triple

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

ed windows. In 1700 the Brandolini family commissioned Ottavio Scotti, architect and Count of

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

, to design and build an extension to the southern part of the castle. Part of these works included the building of a

castle chapel Castle chapels (german: Burgkapellen) in European architecture are chapels that were built within a castle. They fulfilled the religious requirements of the castle lord and his retinue, while also sometimes serving as a burial site. Because the ...

, the Church of San Martino. The chapel was decorated internally with

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es painted by Egidio Dall'Oglio (18th century). Merriman,Mira P: 1986, Page 181 During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the castle was invaded by Imperial Austrian forces and used as a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned and operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a ...

. The Brandolini family abandoned their home and escaped to their Solighetto villa near

Pieve di Soligo Pieve di Soligo is a town in the province of Treviso, near the border with the province of Belluno in Veneto, Italy. , its had 12,096 inhabitants. "Pieve" means "Parish church".

. After 10 years of restoration work, financed by Count Girolamo IV Brandolini (1870–1935), the castle was re-opened as a place of residence in 1929. In 1959 the castle was sold by the Brandolini family to the Salesian fathers, who altered its structure to use it as a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and as a centre for spiritual studies. In 1997 CastelBrando was purchased by Quaternary Investments SpA, who started an expansive renovation program in order to convert it into a hotel and museum.

Present day

CastelBrando has now been extensively restored and now houses a 4-star hotel, museum and a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. Visitors can get up to the castle by

funicular railway A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

from the village. On 18–20 April 2009 CastelBrando hosted the first ever G8 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting organised by the

Italian Minister of Agriculture The Italian Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests is the head of the Republic of Italy's Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies. The ministry had been abolished by legislative referendum in 1993, during a period ...

Luca Zaia Luca Zaia (born 27 March 1968) is a Venetian and Venetist politician, who has been President of Veneto since 2010. Prior to that, Zaia was President of the Province of Treviso from 1998 to 2005, Vice President of Veneto from 2005 to 2008 and M ...

Gallery

File:CastelBrando2.jpg, View of the battlements, in the direction of the village of

Follina Follina is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italy, Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about northwest of Treviso. Situated in the Treviso countryside, on the “Strada del Prosecco” (“P ...

File:Castelbrando, Cison di Valmarino, Italy.jpg, CastelBrando at night File:Castelbrando Courtyard.jpg, Lower inner courtyard

References

Sources

* * * * * ;Attribution *

Notes

External links

Hotel CastelBrando
– includes visiting and museum information

G8 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castelbrando Castles in Veneto Protected areas of Italy Museums in Veneto History museums in Italy Carriage museums in Italy Buildings and structures in the Province of Treviso