Castles of Bellinzona

The Ticino cantonal capital Bellinzona guards, with three medieval castles, the important north-south link over the Alpine passes. Castelgrande, Montebello and Sasso Corbaro, together with the defensive wall that once reached right across the valley, form a unique fortification ensemble that has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. The complex is regarded as the most important example of medieval defensive architecture in the Alpine region.

Highlights

• Three castles: Castelgrande, Montebello, Sasso Corbaro
• UNESCO World Heritage since 2000
• Murata defensive wall, once right across the valley
• Old town with Lombard flair and a Saturday market

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Practical info

Background & History

The three castles of Bellinzona in Ticino form one of the most important medieval fortifications in the Alps and have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since the year 2000. Bellinzona lies at a strategic narrows of the Ticino valley, through which the routes from the great Alpine passes of the Gotthard, the San Bernardino and the Lukmanier have always led southwards. Whoever controlled this valley barrier commanded access from the north into the fertile Lombardy, which is why the fortresses were fiercely contested over the centuries and repeatedly reinforced.

The complex consists of the three castles of Castelgrande, Montebello and Sasso Corbaro, which were linked by a valley-blocking wall, the so-called Murata, and once sealed off the entire valley floor from slope to slope. In the late Middle Ages the dukes of Milan expanded the fortification into a mighty bulwark to halt the advance of the Confederates to the south. Nevertheless, Bellinzona fell to the central Swiss cantons at the beginning of the 16th century and, much later, became the capital of the canton of Ticino. Today the massive walls, towers and battlements impressively recall the town's centuries-long importance as the key to the Alpine crossings, and from the wall-walks the view reaches far across the roofs of the old town into the Ticino valley.