Castel San Felice

Castel San Felice rises along Verona’s northern city walls, on the hills closest to the urban centre. Its tuff-stone walls, towers, bastions, and surrounding greenery form an urban citadel above the city. From the ramparts, you can see Verona and the countryside beyond.

The earliest defences appeared between 1321 and 1324, when Cangrande della Scala commissioned a wall and moat. In 1390, Gian Galeazzo Visconti added an enclosure and five towers. Venice completed the castle between 1406 and 1409, then expanded it with the northern tenaglia and two western and eastern bastions. Austrian engineers later rebuilt sections, added artillery positions, and constructed the lunetta d’Arçon between 1833 and 1845. These layers connect Scaliger, Visconti, Venetian, and Austrian fortifications within Verona’s wider defensive system.

A large underground cistern, attributed to Michele Sanmicheli, supplied water beneath the fortress. The eastern entrance stands beneath a broad, archaic-looking arch, while polygonal tuff blocks shape the outer walls. Ivy and trees cover parts of the military architecture, creating a quiet setting for cultural events and exhibitions.