Padenghe Castle

Padenghe Castle, locally known as Castello di Padenghe, lies in the small town of Padenghe sul Garda, in the Brescia province in the Lombardy region in Italy.

Padenghe Castle was first mentioned in 1154 as being among the assets granted by the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa to the bishop of Verona. It is thought to have been built around the year 1000 AD, on the remains of a 9th or 10th century predecessor, which was built as a refuge for the locals because of Hungarian raids. In Italian, these kinds of refuge castles are called a 'ricetto'.

Being a Ghibelline stronghold during the Middle Ages, the castle was often the subject of disputes between the cities of Brescia and Verona until 1328/1330. Then it was conquered by the noble Della Scala family, also known as the Scaligeri.

Although Padenghe was disputed by the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan during the 15th and 16th century, the castle would remain in the hands of the Venetians from 1520 to 1796.

Today the castle is like a very tiny walled hamlet with in its interior about a dozen houses around 3 narrow cobblestone streets.

Padenghe Castle can freely be visited. A beautiful castle, it must be wonderful to live there.

Padenghe sul Garda 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 Padenghe; like Bedizzole, Carzago, Moniga, Polpenazze, Puegnago and Soiano. So, if you like castles, this is surely an area to visit.

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