Castelvecchio is the most important military monument of Scaligeri rule in Verona: a fortress built in 1354\u20131356 that rises straight out of the Adige, with the Ponte Scaligero alongside it. Today it houses one of the most significant museums of medieval art in northern Italy, known worldwide for the architectural redesign carried out by Carlo Scarpa from the late 1950s in close collaboration with director Licisco Magagnato, and considered by many his absolute masterpiece. In 2026 the museum turns one hundred: to mark the anniversary, a new lighting system has been installed, renewing the dialogue between the architecture and the works on display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the history of the Scaligeri family and their rule over Verona, read our article: Medieval Verona and the Scaligeri<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Il museo \u00e8 meno affollato nelle prime ore del mattino (10:00\u201311:30) e nei giorni feriali. L\u2019estate porta pi\u00f9 visitatori, ma Castelvecchio \u00e8 in genere pi\u00f9 tranquillo della Casa di Giulietta o dell\u2019Arena. Il Ponte Scaligero al tramonto \u00e8 uno degli scorci pi\u00f9 fotografati di Verona: accessibile in qualsiasi momento, anche la sera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Castelvecchio Museum ticket (or a ticket to any other civic museum in Verona) also gives free entry to the Arche Scaligere on the same day. On top of that: on the first Sunday of every month from November to March, museum entry costs \u20ac1. The Arche are open to the public in the summer months. Worth planning the visit around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The castle: the fortress and the Ponte Scaligero<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Castelvecchio was built between 1354 and 1356 for Cangrande II della Scala, on earlier Roman fortifications. It served a double purpose \u2014 lordly residence and military stronghold \u2014 with one side facing the city and one facing the river, linked to the Ponte Scaligero to guarantee an escape route in the event of a revolt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ponte Scaligero \u2014 free to cross \u2014 is one of the best-preserved medieval bridges in Europe. Seen from below and from the water while rafting on the Adige, it reveals proportions the street view never gives you. Walking across it offers one of the finest views of the river and of the fortress walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The museum: Carlo Scarpa and the collections<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The museum’s collections cover medieval, Renaissance and modern art up to the eighteenth century, grown over time from a core of around two hundred works saved from the Napoleonic confiscations. The museum now displays 622 works across 29 rooms: paintings, sculpture, archaeological finds and arms. Specialist cabinets also hold coins and medals, drawings, prints and photographic plates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among architects and art historians the museum is famous above all for Carlo Scarpa’s intervention. The restoration and redesign, championed by director Licisco Magagnato and begun by Scarpa in the late 1950s, turned the fourteenth-century castle into a landmark of post-war Italian museum design. Scarpa did not separate the restoration of the building from the display of the works: he left the historical layers visible, the joints between different periods exposed, original materials set against bare concrete. The result is considered by many his absolute masterpiece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pivot of the whole design is the equestrian statue of Cangrande I della Scala, set on a raised platform designed by Scarpa that makes it visible from the courtyard, from the patrol walkways and from outside the castle through a slit in the wall. It is not a statue in a room: it is an architectural element in dialogue with all the space around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The route:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it worth the ticket? Yes, and not only for the works. Castelvecchio is one of those museums where the architecture is worth as much as the collection, if not more. People who study or love contemporary architecture come to Verona specifically to see Scarpa’s work. People who don’t know it discover it during the visit. Either way, it is worth every cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A quick visit to the castle and the museum’s main floors takes around 60\u201390 minutes. To see the whole collection including the walkways and the second floor of the Reggia, allow 2 hours. Anyone with a serious interest in architecture or medieval art can comfortably spend half a day there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ponte Scaligero adds 15\u201320 minutes if you want to cross it slowly and take photographs. It is free and open at any time, so you can walk it before or after the museum, sunset included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Castelvecchio is a few minutes’ walk from other points of interest in the western part of the historic centre:<\/p>\n\n\n\nOpening hours 2026<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Biglietti e prezzi 2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ticket type<\/strong><\/th> Price<\/th> Notes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Full ticket<\/td> 9 \u20ac<\/strong><\/td> Online: +0,60\u20ac booking fee<\/td><\/tr> Reduced (groups over 15, over-65s, other concessions)<\/td> 6 \u20ac<\/strong><\/td> Online: +0,45\u20ac booking fee<\/td><\/tr> Young people 18\u201325 (EU citizens and reciprocity countries)<\/td> 2 \u20ac<\/strong><\/td> Online: +0,10\u20ac booking fee<\/td><\/tr> Ponte Scaligero<\/td> Free<\/strong><\/td> Open to walk across at any time<\/td><\/tr> Free<\/td> 0 \u20ac<\/strong><\/td> Ages 0\u201317 (under-14s accompanied), visitors with disabilities + companion, VeronaCard, My IMUV Card (residents of the Comune di Verona)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n What you see: the castle and the museum<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Getting to Castelvecchio<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How long to allow for the visit<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What to see nearby<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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