The fortress of Malcesine can be dated back to the last centuries of the first millennium BC, although there are some written records that maintain that this castle was built by the Lombards sometime in the middle of the first millennium AD.
The castle was destroyed by the Franks in 590 AD and then rebuilt. In 806 King Pepin, who came to Malcesine to visit Saints Benigno and Caro, resided here, and after the Hungarian invasion it was part of the Episcopal Feud of Verona.
From 1277 to 1387 it was under the control of Alberto della Scala and his family.
During this period the Scaligers renovated the fortress, which from then on was called "Scaliger Castle" and was occupied by the House of Visconti from 1387 to 1403.
Two years later it was placed under the rule of the Republic of Venice and remained under its control until 1506. When the castle was conquered by the Empire, the castle changed rulers a few times: it belonged to the Republic of Venice again from 1516 to 1897, then to the French, followed by the Austrians, who carried out significant reinforcement works inside the building and stayed here from 1798 to 1866. From that year on it became Venetian property.
On August 22, 1902 the castle was declared a national monument.
Source:
visitmalcesine.com/de/scaliger-schloss-malcesine-gardasee/230