I left Vicenza early by car and after taking the highway to Verona I then followed the normal road through the picturesque gorge of Chiusa di Ceraino. Driving further I then first stopped in the town of Avio, where I parked the car right next to the main church in the city center. I entered the nice 17th-century baroque church and then walked through the large square in front of it with the monumental fountain. At that point, I headed uphill through some side streets admiring the nice rural architecture as well as some old houses and palaces. After looping around back to the car, I then drove shortly to the nearby Sabbionara, a suburb of Avio, and tried heading up to the castle. Traffic signs said the road was closed so I parked in the main square and headed uphill on foot. I passed some nice houses and finally came in sight of the beautiful castle, the Castello di Avio, already glistening in the morning sun as it was higher in altitude and not covered by the mountains' shadows like the town below. Once at the entrance, I bought the Museum Pass online which grants access to museums across the whole Trentino province for 22 euros. I got inside the castle and started the self-guided tour with the audioguide downloaded on my phone. Built on a sloping hill facing southwards, surrounded by tall mountains in the back, this irregularly shaped yet harmonious defensive structure was in an important strategic location right above the Adige valley, connecting the north and south. As I headed up the hill, and through the castle's defensive levels, I then reached a small building that looked rather unassuming from the outside, the so-called Guards' room. However, inside I marveled at the beautiful well-maintened frescoed walls. These 14th-century frescoes have just interesting geometrical patterns in the first room, and exciting war scenes in the second, with men at arms, archers, and charging knights on horses. Heading upwards I then reached the central courtyard where the baronial palace and main keep are located. As it was Christmas time a small nice Christmas market was set in the courtyard and surrounding covered rooms, an attraction that visitors can enjoy freely without a ticket should they not want to visit the castle's tourist itinerary. After walking around the nice stalls I then headed up the stairs and into the keep, which, tall and imposing towers over the complex. At the top of its four floors is a rounded room, known as the love room, it holds beautiful 14th-century, partially surviving frescoes that depict rare secular scenes mostly related to allegories of love and everyday life. The room was most probably used as shelter by Guglielmo III Castelbarco and his wife Tommasina Gonzaga. An additional highlight of the castle was the beautiful view of the Adige valley below, looking southwards which even on this winter day, with the sun glistening was a sight to behold. Once I was done visiting, I headed out of the castle, and back down into town to get in the car. Then I drove onwards, and after a bit reached Castel Beseno, the largest fortified structure in Trentino-Alto Adige sitting on top of a large flat hill overlooking the Adige valley. After getting the entrance ticket with my museum pass I walked through the main gate and then through the large open area between the outer battlements and the inner ones. It was used both for defense but also as training grounds and tent pitching for troops. Once through the second gate, I was in the inner part of the castle. Here I first walked on top of the battlements which gave me an excellent view of the surrounding landscape and the Adige River valley right below a definitely strategic position. The fortress started out in the 12th century and was further refurbished and expanded during the 16th century. A century earlier, on the plain right below the castle, the Battle of Calliano took place where an army of the Venetian Republic was defeated by an army of Tyroleans and Austrians, stopping the Venetian expansion in the area. I continued my visit, taking me through courtyards, cellars, buildings, and rooms with partially surviving medieval frescoes. The whole complex was nice and full of sights, many of which were restored in the second part of the 20th century. Once I was done touring the fortress I got back in the car and drove to the final destination of the day, the city of Rovereto. First, I stopped at a supermarket on the way to grab some things to eat. Then I drove through the city center and reached the Military Memorial of Castel Dante located on a hill south of town, built between 1933 and 1936 during the fascist period symbol of the Italian victory in World War I and a place for rest for its fallen soldiers. Back towards the city, I found a parking spot and then headed on to visit the city center on foot. I crossed the Leno River across the Forbato bridge which gave me a picturesque view of the cityscape and the castle overlooking from above. Right next to the bridge, on the riverside among the buildings was a house known as the Casa dei Turchi, a 1500 residence which due to its eastern style architecture was named so. Moving onwards I reached the town hall, with nice renaissance external frescoes, and in front of which stood a monument dedicated to Fabio Filzi and Damiano Chiesa, two Italian patriots executed by the Austrians in 1916. Next to it was a 1911 Skoda cannon, used in many frontlines from Poland to Italy from during the whole period of WWI. Walking onwards I reached the nice and elegant square, Piazza Malfatti, and right next to it Piazza delle Erbe with at its center a nice early 20th century fountain. Continuing, I meandered through the picturesque narrow streets of the old town sided by tall elegant baroque palaces. Among them was Palazzo Todeschi-Micheli, where on December 25, 1769, Mozart gave his first highly acclaimed Italian concert in the presence of noblemen and notables from Rovereto. Once through the San Marco gate, a symbol of the Venetian dominance of the city, I entered the core of the old town. Here was Piazza San Marco, with the church of the same name, again a remembrance of Venetian rule. The latter featured a 15th-century lion of St Mark's on its facade and a beautiful rococo interior. A little further I then passed under the Civic Tower, dating to the 14th century as a defensive tower and later with the clock and bell added a century later. At the end of the street, I then entered the Casa Depero, a museum of futurist art conceived in 1957 by artist Fortunato Depero. The interior, though small, was really interesting with the typical futurist objects and art made by Depero. Once outside I headed on to the next museum, the Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra, hosted inside the castle, which I could visit with the museum's pass card. Originally built in the 14th century by the Castelbarco family, it was then taken by the Venetians when they ruled the city a century later and further expanded and refurbished and is now considered one of the most complete and interesting alpine fortifications of the Venetian style. Once inside I visited the beautifully made museum originally dedicated solely to WWI but later with the additions of the period before (1800s) and that of WWII. There were objects, equipment, weapons, memorabilia, and documents from the wars and from all sides and belligerents. The layout was nice and interesting and the exhibits were very informative, with not just the war itself but all social influences on the populations involved. Despite the exterior being renovated I was also able to head to the top of the main tower, the Torrione Malipiero, from where I then had a great view of the old town below and surrounding mountainous landscape. Once back outside I headed on to visit yet another museum, the Museo della Città hosted inside a nice palace, Palazzo Sichardt. It exhibited objects and art from the Middle Ages to the modern period relating to the city's history. Walking through the city I headed to the northern end of the old town, passing beautiful baroque palaces from the 18th century until I reached the Mart, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. The museum actually consists of locations both in Rovereto and Trento, but its headquarters and main building are in Rovereto. This latter one is a modern building with a large glass cupola built in 2002. Inside were permanent exhibitions on 20th-century artists such as Morandi, De Chirico, Carrà, etc. as well as some temporary exhibitions on Dürer, landscape paintings by Bezzi, one on contemporary Chinese artists, and other very abstract sections. After the visit, I was back out now by nighttime. I walked through the streets one last time, heading over to the part of the old town where a small but nice Christmas market was set. Eventually, I got back to the car and drove home to Vicenza.
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