Bedizzole Castle

Bedizzole Castle, locally known as Castello di Bedizzole, lies in the center of the village of the same name, in the Brescia province in the Lombardy region in Italy.

Bedizzole Castle was first built around the 9th or 10th century as a refuge for the locals in a reaction to raids of Hungarians frequenting the area. In Italian, these kinds of refuge castles are called a 'ricetto'.

In 1277 Bedizzole, by then a Brescian property, handed itself over to the Lord of Verona; Alberto I della Scala. Once it was reconquered by the Brescians, together with Manerba, its walls were destroyed, only to be rebuilt later.

It was besieged in 1483 by the troops of the Duke of Calabria, but managed to resist. The damaged fortifications of the castle were repaired and strengthened in 1494. In 1509 Bedizzole Castle was again besieged by the troops of Charles II d'Amboise during one of the Italian Wars. His troops tried to slight the castle's walls, but this was prevented by the people of Bedizzole. The locals rebuilt the gate tower with its drawbridges in 1511. Towards the middle of the 16th century, however, the military importance of the castle diminished. This led to the gate tower being converted into a clock and bell tower.

Today, Bedizzole Castle is like a small walled neighborhood in the village. The upper part of almost all of its former circuit walls are gone, and only small towers and the gate tower remain. Inside its walls are 4 narrow streets lined by houses. The quiet neigborhood is freely accessible.

Bedizzole is situated in an area called Valtènesi. This area roughly encompasses the hilly lowland between the southwest bank of Lake Garda and the mountains. During the 10th and 11th century several settlements in Valtènesi built similar castles as Bedizzole; like Carzago, Moniga, Padenghe, Polpenazze, Puegnago and Soiano. So, if you like castles, this is surely an area to visit.

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