Bellinzona's castles
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A night view of the three illuminated castles, which have been a Unesco site since 2000. Castelgrande, front, was renovated by local architect Aurelio Galfetti. (Keystone/Martial Trezzini) -
Looking down onto the defensive wall from a crack in Castelgrande’s walls. (Keystone/Martial Trezzini) Keystone -
Underground passages in Castelgrande. (Keystone/Martial Trezzini) Keystone -
Modern visitors can use the lift to reach the Castelgrande but in medieval times people came via the south, using this door in the city wall. (Keystone/Martial Trezzini) Keystone -
Castelgrande is divided into three big courtyards. These are separated by walls which start at the 13th century Black Tower. (Keystone/Karl Mathis) Keystone -
The old defensive wall and vines at the foot of the Castelgrande. (swiss-image.ch/Remy Steinegger) swiss-image -
A splendid aerial view of Montebello Castle. (ETH Zürich) -
Montebello Castle, also called the Middle Castle, hosts many cultural events. (wikipedia/Peter Berger) -
Montebello Castle, with its stairs and secret corners. (Own work /Franz Clemens) -
Montebello Castle also hosts medieval fairs for the public. (swiss-image.ch/Remy Steinegger) swiss-image -
Crowds turn out for one of the events, called La Spada nella Rocca or the sword in the stone. (swiss-image.ch/Remy Steinegger) swiss-image -
The castles of Montebello and Sasso Corbaro in Bellinzona. (Massimo Macconi) -
Sasso Corbaro’s tower has been admirably restored by local architect Paola Piffaretti. (wikipedia/Clemensfranz) -
Sasso Corbaro’s restoration has been accompanied by landscape work, aimed at offsetting the site’s beauty. (wikipedia/Clemensfranz)
Ancient guardians of the city.
This content was published on December 16, 2009 - 15:18Castelgrande, Montebello and Sasso Corbaro are the names of the three Bellinzona castles on the Unesco World Heritage list. A great tourist attraction, the castles are considered great examples of fortified medieval architecture in Switzerland.
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