Scena Castle, Schenna, Italy

Scena castle, also called Castel Schenna, has first been documented in 1346, but this refers to a forerunner of the building. Only Petermann from Scena, burgrave from Tyrol and minion of Margaret, Countess of Tyrol, had the castle complex built in 1350, the way it appears today.

In the years to follow the castle repeatedly changed hands. Among the famous owners there were the Lords of Starkenberg, the Counts of Lichtenstein and Archduke John of Austria. They inhabited the castle complex and renovated, changed and shaped it. Today the Earls of Merano, descendants of Archduke John of Austria, live in and cultivate the castle complex.

Via a bridge you can reach the entrance and by passing the oubliette you come to the inner courtyard. In the inside you can visit lordy rooms, a Renaissance hall with faience oven dating back to the 18th century, a painting gallery and a weapons collection dating back to the 12th to the 19th century, as well as the biggest private Andreas Hofer collection. Part of the castle is also a mausoleum in neo-Gothic style, in which Archduke John and his family were entombed. Curiosity: Castel Scena is one of the fews castles in the surroundings of Merano which has never been abandoned and so it never began to decay.

References:

suedtirolerland.it

Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.

MDK (4 years ago)
Boring... nothing of interest.

Teruko Rohr (4 years ago)
Nice castle that belonged to the Hapsburg Family decendant, Archduke Johann (thus you will see many portraits and paintings of the ancestors of him). The one hour guide was unfortunately in German but you can purchas e an English guide book inside when the castle opens for it's next tour. The guide also seemed to speak Italian.

Helmut Christian (4 years ago)
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Felix Gartner (4 years ago)
Tooollll

Scena Castle

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