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

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

, which linked the valley of the

Po River The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ligurian language (ancient), Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira (river), Mair ...

with

Rhaetia Raetia ( ; ; also spelled Rhaetia) was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west with Tr ...

(modern Austria). Laura Colomban: 2009 The original castrum, dating from 46 AD is still visible today. A recent

archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

has uncovered a diameter bread-oven within the castrum, dating from the same period. The original

Roman baths In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...

have also been excavated, as have the original pipes of the aqueduct which supplied water from three nearby natural springs. 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, 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, which awarded the Castle's fiefdom first to Marin Faliero and then to the condottieri 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 Forlì. 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 double and triple mullioned windows. In 1700 the Brandolini family commissioned Ottavio Scotti, architect and Count of Treviso, 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, the castle was invaded by Imperial Austrian forces and used as a military hospital. 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 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. Visitors can get up to the castle by funicular railway from the village. On 18–20 April 2009 CastelBrando hosted the first ever G8 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting organised by the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Luca Zaia.

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 Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about northwest of Treviso. Situated in the Treviso countryside, on the “Strada del Prosecco” (“Prosecc ...

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