Quiet morning just a few chores before a walk about
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The Castle of Desenzano, built before the year 1000, originated as a defensive enclosure (ricetto) intended to protect the inhabitants of the village and to provide them shelter during the frequent raids perpetrated by bandits, rival neighbors, and incursions by the Hungarians. The original shape was roughly rectangular, with four circular corner turrets (torresini) and a massive square tower at the entrance; the Inside was crowded with houses Inhabited by artisans and merchants. Around 1470, the enclosure was expanded southward; two new torresini were built, and the complex took on its current trapezoidal shape.
Between 1882 and 1885, the internal village was demolished along with the entire west side of the walls to make way for the Beretta barracks (Caserma Beretta), in neo-Gothic style. The barracks. active from 1885 until 1943, housed an infantry battalion, then a battallon of bersaglieri and finally a battalion of alpinl. In 1969, the city purchased a large part of the property, except for the monumental parts, which were designated as inalienable state heritage.
THE RESTORATION PROJECT
The preservative restoration project was defined in 2005 to recover the structure and return it to the city for public use.
The interventions, completed in April 2007, focused on the medieval walls, the bastions on the west and east sides, and the keep, consisting of the guardhouse and the tower. The perimeter walls and the stone and brick vaults were consolidated.
Beneath the crenelations, the wall-walk (chemin de ronde) was reconstructed, and a small arena was created in the inner courtyard.
Now a venue for Summer Opera
Continue walk about
Tomorrow a jam packed day ahead….driver, ferry, ferry and FUN
