The
beautiful Trento, a city located in the Adige valley, capital and
major center of the province of the same name, a site with an ancient history
as a Venetian, Etruscan, Gallic and Roman settlement on the slopes of three
hills named Dosso Sant' Agata, Dosso
di San Rocco and Doss Trent which originated the Latin name Tridentum
in Imperial times.
You
can start the visit from the beautiful Piazza Duomo, the heart and “historic
living room” of the city where stands the Cathedral dedicated to San
Vigilio, built starting from the 12th century by the architect Adamo
D' Arogno despite being definitively finished in the 15th century on
the remains of an early Christian Basilica dating back to the 6th
century.
This
stupendous Romanesque-Gothic masterpiece developed with three naves divided
with beam columns, a protruding transept and a lantern boasts a wonderful
façade with a Gothic rose window, a splendid portal and flanked by a 16th
century bell tower with a concert of eight bells.
On the left side you can
admire another portal with a porch and another rose window known as the
"wheel of fortune".
You
can visit the interior that houses the famous Crucifix where the fathers of
the famous Council of Trent gathered around it, the relics of the
venerated San Vigilio, the fresco of the Stories of San Giuliano made by
Monte di Bologna, the baroque chapel of the Crucifix by Giuseppe Alberti
dating back to 1682 and a canopy of the same style inspired by Bernini.
On
the same square, on the eastern side, is Palazzo Pretorio, an
extraordinary 13th century building in Gothic-Lombard style
highlighted by a double order of mullioned windows and Ghibelline battlements.
Home to the Diocesan Museum which houses important works of art such as
Flemish tapestries, paintings from various periods, wooden sculptures and a
remarkable iconographic documentation concerning the Council of Trent.
Continuation
along Via Belenzani where you will notice the presence of various
buildings of Renaissance architectural matrix such as Palazzo Geremia, a
masterpiece with mullioned windows and frescoes, the Old Town Hall which
was the Belenzani residence, Palazzo Thun corresponding to the Town
Hall, Palazzo Alberti – Colico frescoed by the master Falconetto
and the beautiful Baroque Church of San Francesco Saverio.
In
the nearby Via Manci you can have a stop in front of Palazzo Galasso, a 17th-century
building designed by Bagnadore, a structure decorated with ashlar on the
ground floor with a refined façade with a triple order of windows.
This
building is called "Devil's Palace", a nickname linked to a
legend that says it was the devil who built it with stones placed in a single
night.
Continuation
with one of the architectural emblems of Trento, namely the wonderful
crenellated complex of the Buonconsiglio Castle.
Built in the first half
of the 12th century next to the medieval city walls, at the beginning used as a
fortified defensive stronghold and which for about five centuries was the
residence of the Bishops of Trento as early as 13th century when they courted
them.
Developed
around the cylindrical keep on a building nucleus called Castelvecchio,
between 1514 and 1539 Bishop Bernardo Cles decided to call
various talented artists of that era who built his private residence called Palazzo
Magno, of traditional Renaissance architectural canons.
The
interior is sumptuously decorated with extraordinary ceilings, frescoes and
wooden coffers and the successors of this ecclesiastical figure hosted in this
space numerous important personalities, a place that became in its own way a
sort of house for meetings and also used for lunches, dinners and banquets.
In
1686 the castle underwent some modifications ordered by the Prince-Bishop
Alberti Poia, enlarging Palazzo Magno with the so-called Giunta
Albertiana, a baroque hall with frescoed vaults and decorated with refined
stuccoes.
The
castle remained the local Bishopric until 1803, a period in which some
changes began and after the cessation of the temporal power of the Episcopal
Curia.
It had periods of decadence until it was used as a military
quarter during the Habsburg era, becoming in the 20s after a radical
restoration the seat of the National Museum while from 1992 it
was used as a museum space for art collections.
You
will then focus on the oldest section of the fortress, Castelvecchio,
built in 1239 at the behest of the Podestà of Trento and
transformed in the 15th century as the residence of Bishop Giorgio
Liechtenstein.
Characterized
by a traditional Venetian Gothic style adopted in 1475 at the behest of
the Prince-Bishop Johannes Hinderbach, it boasts a beautiful courtyard
adorned with loggias, was frescoed with various works in the 16th century and
with some paintings executed by the master Fogolino dating back to 1535.
On
the southern side of the castle you can stop in front of the Eagle Tower
which houses a true Gothic masterpiece, a splendid cycle of frescoes depicting
the twelve months attributed to Wenceslas of Bohemia who lived at the
Bishop's court in the fifteenth century.
It’
time for your lunch and Trento offers a superb gastronomy, to taste and enjoy
something of traditional you can have a choice of first courses between Ravioli
with Melted Butter with Parmesan Cheese or Dumplings with Speck.
Suggested
as second courses between Salted Meat with White Beans or Salmon
Trout with Mixed Salad, many are the excellent wines in Trentino so you
will have an ample selection to choose.
After
your lunch take a look to Piazza Raffaello Sanzio where the 15thcentury
Torre Verde stands, so called because of the color of the majolica that
covers its wide spire.
This structure was part of a defensive wall whose
remains are still visible and was used as a watchtower for trade to and from
the Brenner.
Continue
to the nearby Piazza Dante admiring the beautiful 13th century
Church of San Lorenzo which was a wonderful Romanesque prototype with
added Gothic elements.
It is a basilica that was part of the Abbey occupied by the
Benedictine Order that suffered severe damage in the bombings of 1943 during
the Second World War and largely rebuilt in 1955.
If you want to know more about Trento you can move towards the southern part of Trento to admire the beautiful Palazzo
delle Albere, built in 1535 at the behest of Prince-Bishop Madruzzo
as his peripheral residence, which now houses the Museum of Modern and
Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto.
Developed
on a quadrangular plan, the structure has four quadrangular towers erected at
each cardinal point and preserves beautiful frescoes by the talented artist Fogolino.
Moving
to the other side of the Adige river through the San Lorenzo Bridge you will
reach the Church of Sant' Apollinare, a medieval building of Romanesque
architectural origins renovated with a Gothic-Cistercian profile.
The
interior is beautiful with splendid cross vaults, an important altarpiece of
the late fifteenth century of the Germanic school and a fourteenth-century
fresco depicting a Madonna and Child.
Trento
is undoubedtly a magnificent city, visiting it will be a great experience, the
charm of its historic core conquers all the visitors and you will keep very
pleasant memories with the desire to come back in the future.
Link
: https://www.comune.trento.it/
Where
to stay | Recommeded Hotels
Grand
Hotel Trento - https://www.grandhoteltrento.com/
Hotel
America - https://www.hotelamerica.it/