The Castle of Monselice, and its three different historic periods.

The majestic architectural complex of the castle of Monselice, is a collection of different buildings and three different historical periods. Between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries the castle (born as a military and defensive bulwark), has been transformed into a stately home, until it became a Venetian villa during the Renaissance period. The oldest part consists of two buildings built between the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The second part consists of the great tower of Ezzelino, which takes its name from its famous developer, Ezzelino III, vicar of Emperor Federico II of Swabia. It was Ezzelino who ordered the construction of the tower in the 13th century. Inside there are monumental chimneys, vulgarly called in Italian to “beak of flute”, unique in Italy for functionality, built by the Paduan lordship of the Da Carrara in the fourteenth century. In fact, inside there was sea sand that was used to hold the heat longer, and to disperse it, even when the fire was off. From the 1405, the castle was bought by the Marcello venetian family, who began the construction of the Cá Marcello, a graceful palace connecting the two oldest parts of the castle, which already existed. The Marcello then proceeded to expand the intermediate rooms of the tower, to create a summer residence, used until the early 1800s. During this long period, the Marcello family erected the building called the castle library, restructured the Venetian courtyard and added the private family chapel during the 18th century. With the fall of the Republic of Venice, at the end of the eighteenth century, the decline of the castle begins. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the ownership of the castle passed to some local noble families, and towards the middle of the century to the Girardi counts, and towards the end of the century it was inherited by the Cini family, more interested in the trachyte quarries than in the castle, now ruined. During the First World War the entire complex was requisitioned by the Italian Royal Army and is used for military purposes. In 1919 it was left in a state of great devastation. Around 1930 the property was inherited by Count Vittorio Cini, who in addition to taking care of the architectural restoration of the castle, carries out an accurate search for objects of furniture (furniture, paintings, carpets, tapestries, ceramics, musical instruments and fabrics) and weapons , recreating inside the castle the ancient medieval and renaissance atmosphere that still exists today. Since 1981 the castle is owned by the Veneto region, and inside it are preserved only original pieces of various historical periods. In this castle, according to the legends, there are three ghosts……stay tuned! 🙂