Soave Castle

Palatine Hill

S Jackson

Driving west from Milan toward Venice on the Via San Lorenzo Highway, with Verona 15 kilometers behind you and Venice 100 kilometers ahead, keep your eyes peeled northward. There on Mount Tenda you will see one of the most intriguing sites in all of Italy--Soave Castle.

History of Suave

This castle (castello, in Italian) sits on a hilltop above the village, like a sentinel keeping watch over the villagers of Suave, as it has for 1,075 years. Suave, with its medieval stone walls, its cobblestone streets, and its perfectly lined grape vineyards. All of this, it almost seems, remains today as it had been in A.D. 934 when the castle was first constructed to protect its villagers against Magyar invasions. Or, perhaps it was in 1379 when Soave's stone walls were put in place by the Scaligeri.

Soave, the Village

The castle, the drawbridge, the cobblestone streets, and perhaps, the vineyards are all that are left of the past. Today, there are only the tourists with their cameras, their shiny rented cars, the villagers with their noisy motorbikes, the tourist shops, and the gelato. You will find it difficult to stroll through the town without stopping to sample the gelato. Then, when you have had enough of this Italian ice cream and exchanging pleasantries with the villagers, you can then take the 5-minute drive  up the winding country road to the castle.

Suave Castle

Once you are standing at the castle's drawbridge looking out over the countryside below, with its vineyards of Garganega grapes, it will difficult for you to believe you are not one of the medieval villagers who lived here 500 years ago. Below you and the castle, you might envision a band of warriors on horseback charging up the hill with their swords drawn, the Italian sun glinting off metal breastplates and helmets. But for now, as you look through leafy-branched trees growing on the hillside between you and the lowlands, you can see that this glint is only from the 2 shiny tourist cars advancing up the narrow road toward the castle.

Remnants of the Past

In the flatlands below, if you were to leave the castle and return to the village, you would find other remnants of the past. In the town center, for example, there is the historic home of ancient Soave governors, the Palazzo Scaligero. And not far from them are the Palaces of Conti Sambonifacio, Conti Cavialli, Conti Moscardi, di Giustizia, and del Capitano. If you look farther you will find cathedrals such as the Santa Maria di Monte Santo, and in nearby Borgo Bassano the Santuario di Santa Maria.

If now you are ready to resume your journey eastward to Venice or other Italian places, you can leave Soave behind, with its stone walls, its vineyards and its medieval past. Regardless of what you may see in Venice or the rest of Italy, you can be sure of one thing--you will never forget Soave, its castle and its past.

Contributor: Garry Steck