Lazise Castle

Lazise Castle, locally known as Castello Scaligero di Lazise, lies in the town of Lazise, in the Verona province in the Veneto region in Italy.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Scaligeri, also called the Della Scala, were Lords of Verona and ruled over Lake Garda. To exert their total control over Lake Garda and secure trade routes, they rebuilt and constructed several castles around the lake at Lazise, Malcesine, Torri del Benaco, Riva, and Sirmione.

Lazise Castle, along with the turreted town walls, was built between 1350 and 1381. The new castle had a rectangular plan, with 5 square towers and a high, slender keep. It was an integral part of the town walls and featured a fortified dock.

After the fall of the Scaliger dynasty in 1387, Lazise passed to the Visconti of Milan and later, in 1405, after the War of Padua, to the Republic of Venice. Initially, it remained important as a fortified trading port, but over time, the castle lost its military significance. By the late 18th century, it had fallen into decline, and in 1796, it suffered heavy damage during Napoleon’s Italian campaign.

In the 19th century, Count Giovanni Battista Buri consolidated the castle ruins and transformed its grounds into a romantic garden, almost completely filling in the dock. The castle became a garden ornament for the nearby residence.

Today, Lazise Castle is privately owned and not open to the public. However, the towering castle ruin can be easily viewed from the surrounding streets. A mighty castle, too bad the ruin cannot be visited.

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