Arco Castle

It is perched on a cliff and overlooking the valley of the high Garda.

Castello di Arco, born in the Middle Ages around the year 1000 as a fortified village with strong walls and a sighting place thanks to the two towers, perhaps built by the inhabitants, included prisons, the blacksmith’s shop, the mill, the cellars and the cisterns. In 1196 the Count Federico d’Arco declared the castle full ownership of the citizens of Arco, even if later his family became its full owner; while the village below was occupied on various occasions, the castle was always impregnated. In 1579 he was occupied by the commissioners of Ferdinand II, archduke of Tyrol, he returned to the d’Arco from 1614. In August 1703, during the war of succession to the throne of Spain, the arrival of the troops of the French general Luigi Giuseppe di Vendôme marked the end of the castle; his army, after having conquered the village, bombards the castle making the garrison surrender. After the French, the inhabitants used the stones of the castle to rebuild the houses. The Arco family is divided into two branches, which remain both owners of the castle: one remains to live in Arco and Mantua, the other moves to Bavaria, Monaco; only in 1927 the castle was bought by the Countess Giovanna d’Arco becoming its sole owner. In 1982 it was bought by the Municipality which then began the restoration work that brought back to its former glory the castle, managing to save even medieval frescoes depicting scenes from the life of the court of the time.