ヴィラ（ガンバロニョ）の洞窟・トップ8

The castle houses two museums and is very close to the city centre. From there it is just a few minutes' walk to Piazza Grande

Medieval structure in good condition and well integrated into the urban context

Built in 1560 according to the wishes of the Uri mercenary leader Peter A Pro, as a military base for the recruitment of mercenaries. The complex includes one massive square-plan building with a projecting top part, with walkway and machicolations. Adjacent is a rectangular two-floor building, with iron gratings on the ground floor windows. Inside are corridors and hiding places. It’s also known as “La Vignaccia”. Close to Minusio are also the ruins of the “Fraccia”, a wall with towers built during the Fourteenth Century. Unfortunately, it's not open to the public.

The castello was built in the first half of the 13th century and was the residence of the Milanese Noble family de'Ghiriglioni. The small fortress originally encompassed an area of 41 x 54 metres enclosed by a wall with 4 guard towers at each corner. The south-eastern wall bordered directly on the lake and had its own jetty. Moats around the three remaining walls offered further protection from potential aggressors. After 400 years the de'Ghiriglioni family returned to Milan in the 17th century. While the Western area of the castle was almost completely destroyed over the centuries, the Eastern part remains and ist today the Hotel Castello Seeschloss. You can stay in the south-eastern tower.

If you drive through these wooded hills, you will repeatedly come across traces of human settlements that no longer exist. Like the village of Redde, of which only a few foundations remain, which you can find very close to the chapel of S. Clemente. Much easier to see, however, is the only really well-preserved relic of the disappeared village: this residential tower from the Middle Ages. It comes from the 12th / 13th centuries. Century and probably once offered shelter to a well-heeled resident of the village.

Great ride on this section

Place of easy access and requires no special equipment. The tower is fascinating! I highly recommend visiting this place.

The historic San Materno Castle revives, after careful restoration, as a modern space for exhibitions of the municipality of Ascona in all its splendor. Thanks to a happy agreement between the community and the Kulturstiftung Kurt and Barbara Alten, the castle houses a permanent collection of more than forty works by German artists, the most important from the end of the nineteenth century until after the First World War.