Verona was founded to the site of current Castel San Pietro. This green hill, crowned by cypresses, is home to the remains of the first settlements dating back to the 7th century B.C. From this magnificent vantage-point you can enjoy the view of the whole city spreading out, with its network of Roman Roads, its walls, tall towers and steeples and, if your eyesight is good, you can even make out part of the Arena and the Ponte Scaligero. The current castle was built in 1393, commissioned by Gian Galeazzo Visconti.
At the foot of the hill flows the river Adige, and, on the site of the first ford (used for centuries) the suggestive Ponte Pietra (roman Stone Bridge). At the top of the hill stands the Austrian Fortress erected in the 19th century and which can be reached by a stair-way near the Roman Theatre. He pre-existing castle, on which the fortress rests and from which it takes its name, was erected towards the end oh the 14th century, during the first reign of the Visconti. Napoleon’s troops in 1801, and later the Austrians demolished much of this medieval structure.
The palace is not open to the public.
References:The Château de Chantilly comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency, and the Grand Château, which was destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s. Owned by the Institut de France, the château houses the Musée Condé. It is one of the finest art galleries in France and is open to the public.
The estate"s connection with the Montmorency family began in 1484. The first mansion (now replaced by the Grand Château) was built in 1528–1531 for the Constable Anne de Montmorency by Pierre Chambiges. The Petit Château was also built for him, around 1560, probably by Jean Bullant. In 1632, after the death of Henri II, it passed to the Grand Condé who inherited it through his mother, Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency.
Several interesting pieces of history are associated with the château during the 17th century.