Castello del Buonconsiglio monumenti e collezioni provinciali

The salvaging of the monumental complex after World War I and the more recent restoration.

After the end of Trento’s prince-bishops’ temporal power (1796) and the secularization of the principality (1803) the Castle experienced serious deterioration. It was used for administrative and military purposes by the Austrian government and transformed into barracks, and it was here that the trial and conviction (death sentence) of the irredentists Cesare Battisti, Fabio Filzi and Damiano Chiesa took place in 1916. At the end of World War I, work began on the repairs and restoration, under the supervision of Giuseppe Gerola, that lasted for a little over a decade; in 1924 it became the National Museum, following which, it was enriched with donations, bequests and acquisitions. In 1973, when responsibilities relating to materials of cultural heritage were transferred from the State to the Autonomous Province of Trento, the Buonconsiglio became known as the “Provincial Museum of Art” and in 1992 was renamed Castello del Buonconsiglio.Monumenti e Collezioni Provinciali. Beseno Castle, Stenico Castle and Thun Castle are also part of this museum group, property of the Autonomous Province of Trento.

As of 1978, the monument is undergoing a new and extended restoration campaign, now almost in completion, that has helped considerably in the appreciation and the study of the architectonic structure and of the extraordinary ornamentation. The original route of the castle visit has been re-established: one enters from the Porta di S. Vigilio with access to Castelvecchio, the Magno Palazzo, the Giunta Albertiana and finally into the Garden. Some of the rooms on the ground floor of the Castevecchio are now being reused and adapted for exhibits. The Art History Library has been put in the ancient building of the Marangonerie, and a large space near the entrance to Castelvecchio, where the Book Shop is currently located, can be used for get-togethers, conventions and temporary exhibits. The placement of the bar-restaurant on the grounds of the Giunta Albertiana, allows direct access to the Refettorio with its precious 16th century frescoes, and to the Magno Palazzo’s cellar.