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:The historical centre of Briançon is a strongly fortified town, built by Vauban to defend the region from Austrians in the 17th century. Its streets are very steep and narrow, though picturesque. Briançon lies at the foot of the descent from the Col de Montgenèvre, giving access to Turin, so a great number of other fortifications have been constructed on the surrounding heights, especially towards the east.
The Savoyards made two raids into French territory in 1691 and 1692. As a result, Vauban was dispatched to inspect the frontier defences, which had been ill-equiped to deal with the attack from Savoy. He returned to the area in 1700 to check on the progress that had been made since his first visit. When Vauban visited Briançon, work on the defences had already started under a local engineer, Monsieur d"Angrogne in 1692.