Bevilacqua: Castle, Garden and Church Art

For travellers interested in culture, Bevilacqua brings together the history of Castello Bevilacqua and distinctive features of church art. At the castle, the subjects include its architectural history and a hanging garden, as well as a museum tour, guided visits and events. The churches, meanwhile, feature, among other things, a Romanesque chapel layout, surviving frescoes, Baroque altars and an altarpiece attributed to an artist. This gives you a range of cultural highlights to choose from for your stay.

Castello Bevilacqua: Architectural History and Garden

Castello Bevilacqua was built in 1336 by Guglielmo Bevilacqua; his son Francesco later completed the building. This sequence links a specific date with two generations and provides a clear account of how the medieval complex came into being.

A hanging garden with centuries-old plants surrounds the medieval complex on three sides. This layout directly connects the garden with the architecture. If you are interested in plants and garden design as well as architectural history, the garden is a highlight in its own right at the castle.

Visits and Events

You can explore the museum tour at Castello Bevilacqua independently; it takes about 30 minutes. A guided visit is available by prior reservation and takes about 45 minutes; it includes the torture chamber, the hanging garden and the richly decorated fresco rooms. You can therefore choose between a shorter self-guided visit and a slightly longer guided tour with specific stops.

Today, the castle serves as a venue for cultural events, exhibitions and initiatives celebrating the region’s cultural heritage. The events include themed dinners. If a themed dinner is important to your travel plans, check the event dates in advance.

Chapels and Church Art

The Chiesetta di S.Pierin is a single-nave Romanesque chapel that preserves remnants of frescoes from the 14th and 16th centuries. The surviving frescoes thus point to two different centuries, while the Romanesque, single-nave design describes the chapel’s architectural form. Here, architecture and surviving paintings offer distinct art-historical points of interest.

In the hamlet of Marega, the church dedicated to S. Giorgio preserves Baroque altars. This shifts the focus compared with the Chiesetta di S.Pierin: the latter is distinguished by its Romanesque design and surviving frescoes, while Marega is known for its Baroque altar furnishings. This distinction offers a practical guide if you are particularly interested in architecture, paintings or altars.

An altarpiece from the 16th century by Giovanni Battista d’Agnolo del Moro is located in the apse of the Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate. Its position in the apse, its date and its artist are three clearly identified art-historical aspects. The attribution to an artist distinguishes this work from the surviving frescoes and altars, which offer other points of interest.

Discover more destinations: Peschiera Del Garda, Spiazzi, Grezzana, Lavagno, Valgatara, Illasi, Ronco All'adige, Castello.

For the wider travel overview: Verona.