Trento

Trento, the capital of Trentino, is known for the Council of Trent (16th century) and its well-preserved townscape with the Castello del Buonconsiglio and fresco-adorned palazzi. The modern science museum MUSE by Renzo Piano and the surrounding mountains make the city versatile.

Highlights

• Castello del Buonconsiglio
• Wissenschaftsmuseum MUSE (Renzo Piano)
• Historic old town with frescoes
• Council of Trent

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Background & History

Lying in the broad Adige valley, where the alpine and the Mediterranean worlds touch, Trento looks back on a long and eventful history. The Romans already valued its position on the important north-south connection over the Alps. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, prince-bishops ruled here, whose power gave the town splendid palaces, arcades and brightly painted façades, which is why Trento is often praised as the northernmost Italian Renaissance city. For a long time the region belonged to Austria, which to this day forms a bridge between the cultures in its architecture and way of life.

Trento gained world-historical importance through the Council of Trent, which met between 1545 and 1563 in several sessions and formulated the Catholic answer to the Reformation. From this town the Counter-Reformation was launched, an event that shaped the course of European religious history. High above the town watches the mighty Castello del Buonconsiglio, once residence of the prince-bishops, whose halls with their magnificent frescoes rank among the finest testimonies of alpine court culture. Framed by the Brenta Dolomites and nearby vineyards, Trento today combines Italian joie de vivre with an alpine backdrop, a town in which one can almost physically sense the transition from the rugged mountains to the sunny south.