The Etruscan populations were the first to live in Malcesine up until 15 BC when the Romans settled here. It seems that the Rocca, or stronghold, of Malcesine was built halfway through the first half of the first millennium AD by the Longobards, over the years it was damaged and rebuilt several times. Under the rule of the Franks, King Pipino stayed in the castle when he came to Malcesine to visit the two hermit saints Benigno and Caro. During the period between 1277 and 1378 Malcesine came under the rule of the Della Scala family who, thanks to their restoration works changed the name of the Rocca di Malcesine to Castello Scaligero, the Scaligero Castle. From 1405 to 1797 Malcesine was ruled by the 'Serenissima Venetian Republic', who created a body to control the territories and called it the ‘Gardesana dell'Acqua’ which had its headquarters in Malcesine in the 'Palazzo dei Capitani'. In the late 1700s until the end of the 1800s the Austrians used the Scaligero Castle as a stronghold. Malcesine attracted many famous painters and poets amongst which Goethe, Kafka and Klimt who immortalised both Malcesine and the town of Cassone in some of his paintings.
It was built to replace a previous pagan cult building dedicated to Isis. The existence of a church dedicated to St. Stephen dates back to at least the ninth century, when there were placed the bodies of Saints Benigno and Caro; It is then mentioned in several documents, including papal bulls of Eugene III and Hadrian IV in the twelfth century. Starting from 1729 the building was demolished and rebuilt from scratch, in Baroque style in its most sober declensions. The construction of the current church took place in several moments: in order not to suspend the celebrations, in fact, it was decided to demolish the old building with vertical portions, reconstructing it gradually. A few fragments remain from the previous church. The current one has a single nave with a vaulted ceiling, in which the glory of S. Stefano (Perini, XVIII century) is frescoed. The most noteworthy work on the artistic level preserved there is The Deposition of Christ by Girolamo from the Books.
The Palazzo dei Capitani del Lago or simply Palazzo dei Capitani is a historic building in Malcesine (on the north-eastern shore of Lake Garda, in the province of Verona), built between the 13th and 14th centuries by the Scaligeri family and redone in Gothic style Venetian in the fifteenth century. An ancient seat of the Scaliger governors and later of the Captain of the Lake, it has been declared a national monument. Today it houses offices in the municipality of Malcesine.
The Scaliger castle of Malcesine is a medieval castle (even if the original fortress seems to have more ancient origins) in the town of Malcesine, a town on the north-eastern shore of Lake Garda, in the province of Verona. The castle, passed over the centuries into the hands of Longobards, Franks, Scaligeri, Venetians, Visconti, French and Austrians, was also made famous by the drawings and descriptions provided by the German writer Goethe in his Journey to Italy (Italienische Reise, 1813 - 1817). A museum and a bust on site are dedicated to the writer. At the current entrance of the castle, inside the building that served as a guardhouse, a Museum of Natural History of Garda and Baldo was set up. Since 1902 it has been a national monument and since 2017 it has been owned by the Municipality of Malcesine. In recent years, the tradition of weddings in the castle has spread.
Discover all the points of interest in the city.
Saturday
Festa di S. Stefano 26th December
Pronto Soccorso Malcesine Via Gardesana, 37 Località Val di Sogno Ospedale di Bussolengo Via Ospedale, 4/6, 37012 Bussolengo VR
INTERNAZIONALE – DR. MARCHESINI Via Gardesana, 149
SPIAGGIA DI VAL DI SOGNO , Località Val di Sogno SPIAGGIA DI NAVENE LIDO PAINA , Località Paina
PORTO – Piazza Guglielmo Marconi