Ivano Castle, Ivano-fracena, Italy

Ivano castle history dates probably to the late 6th century AD, when Longobards built a fortifications against Franks and Alemans. Later it was extended agains Hungarian invasions. The first recorded document about the castle dates back to 1187 and there is a mention of the Lord of Ivano.

The Castle displays a mixture of architectural styles: the medieval walls, the Renaissance residence and the Benedictine lodge. From the watch tower you come to a moat and a large gate, followed by the outer courtyard with a fountain and an historical acacia tree from the 16th century. Next are the large hall of the old barn and the 17th century chapel. As you go on, you reach the inner courtyard, with two buildings linked by galleries.

User Reviews

Rene Braga (3 months ago)
Suggestionate

Sara Nena (14 months ago)
We have been here for a wedding. The place is magic, and it was raining, I can not immagine how beautiful is with the sun. They made us a quick visit of the castle with the prisons and the winery. I would suggest it for events in general, the view is really nice from here.

Pheng Lo (3 years ago)
This XV castle has been turned into an awesome Bed and Breakfast that has a little chapel and a great deck overlooking the valley below. If you want the grand tour of the castle, you'll have to call ahead.

Arne Örtenholm (3 years ago)
Nice Castle but did not find entrance

Amy Guides by Amy McClain (3 years ago)
What's life like living on the grounds of a castle? Well, when you visit Castel Ivano and the Terre del Lagorai winery housed there, you will quickly discover the intrigue. Pristinely manicured gardens welcome you as you meander up the gravel walking path. Once inside the entrance, enjoy a guided tour of the castle grounds and sip tantalizing wines at a wine tasting. As if there isn't enough in Trentino and Valsugano to entice you, this is a top-notch venue to soak in and savour.

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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. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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