Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
C3
D4
Sights
B2
B3
Eating
A2
7
Manor
C2
B3
Sights
The city's three imposing castles are the main drawcard. Read up on them at
www.bellinzonaunesco.ch
.
Although you could walk between the three, the top two
castles can also be reached by car.
Castelgrande
CASTLE
(Monte San Michele;
091 825 81 45;
www.castelgrande.ch
; grounds admission free, museum & towers adult/child
Sfr5/2; 10am-7pm Fri-Wed 10am-9pm Thu Jul & Aug, 10am-6pm Apr-Jun, Sep & Oct, 11am-4pm Nov-Mar)
Castelgrande is the biggest fortification and rises above the town centre. The first fortress
on this site dates from the 4th century, but what you see today was built during and after
the 13th century. It's worth paying the admission ticket here for the fine 18-minute video
on Bellinzona's history, the fascinating museum, and the chance to climb to the summit of
Torre Bianca (the climb begins in its twin Torre Neri).
The museum's highlights are the 15th-century decorations taken from the ceiling of a
former noble house in central Bellinzona. The pictures range from weird animals (late me-
dieval ideas on what a camel looked like were curious) to a humorous series on the 'world
upside down'. Examples of the latter include an ox driving a man-pulled plough and a
sex-crazed woman chasing a chaste man(!). The uncomfortable black seats you sit on for
the audiovisual on the castle's history were designed by Mario Botta and cost around
Sfr1000 a pop!
