Riva fortress

It is located on an artificial island isolated from a moat that surrounds it in the historic center of Riva del Garda, built at the behest of Prince Bishop Altemanno in the second decade of the thirteenth century.

Riva fortress is of medieval origins, built in 1124 to defend the port, important for trade with the Trentino area; is an example of fortress of the areas of Lake Garda, is located in the center of Riva, surrounded by water, has four square towers and a drawbridge; today it is the seat of the Civic Museum, where various finds from the Roman and medieval periods are located. It was restructured and enlarged by the Scaligeri on the example of the previous fortresses of Lazise, Sirmione, Peschiera. With the Serenissima it was at the center of the clashes with the Visconti, while in 1516 it was conquered by the Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg and lost importance; became a bishop’s residence and Alfonsina Gonzaga of Novellara, wife of Gianangelo Madruzzo in the seventeenth century. In the nineteenth century it became a barracks on the border with Austria and the towers were lowered.