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Castel ThunCastel Thunhen one travels up the Valley of the Adige

River (Val dell`Adige) to the Val di Non,

one passes the promontory, the

"Rocchetta", that overlooks the entrance

to the Valley as a gate keep. Passing it, one sees to the

right the imposing Castel Thun which stands on a wood-ed hill surrounded by apple orchards, in the Municipality

of Ton. In the evening, it is striking illumined with beams

of white light and red. It is a monumental building of

medieval origin, the seat of the powerful family Thun.

This family has a history of eight centuries that has

deeply marked the Valley of Noce, the the Trentino-

Tyrolean region and of significant European events.

Since the thirteenth century this noble family is at the top

of the regional aristocracy, but it is from 1407 that the

family takes precedence over other noble dynasties of

the Val di Non, who were weakened by the revolt of thepeople, oppressed by taxes and other abuses, against the

Prince Bishop of Trento. At the end of the fifteenth cen-

tury, the Thun family branches out to various family

lines, but always with a common strategy for action. In

that period, Sigismondo of Thun exercised a leading

role. He was able to increase the influence of the family

coordinating the family`s initiatives and rich heritage

with shrewdness. He was also the imperial spokesperson

imperial, signing in 1563 the proceedings of the Council

of Trent on behalf of the Austrian Emperor Ferdinand.

He died in the terrible fire that destroyed the castle and

caught him while he was in bed. After his death, there

developed deep disagreements between the various

branches of the family dividing the once excellent fami-

ly that had remained until then remained undivided. Yet

there was enough unity to enable several members of the

family to carry out important diplomatic posts and mili-

tary. In 1609 the Emperor Ferdinand II of the Thun

family obtained the title of Count, with the consolidation

of the branch of Bohemia of the Hohenstein. Between

1650 and 1803 the family boasts 12 Prince Bishops. Inlater centuries the Trentino branch weakened gradually,

while the Bohemian branch becomes an important play-

er in European political history.

In the thirteenth century, the Thun family, owners of the

Tower of the Visione and of the castle of Ton in

Castelletto, bought the castle of Belvesino. This castle

was believed to be the original nucleus of the palace

which had a double wall, protected by ramparts and tow-

ers, with moat and drawbridge built with wisdom

exploiting the natural slope of the hill.

You enter the "Spanish door" (1566), and cross the draw-bridge, one will come to a large veranda where they were

originally placed the cannons. The main body of the cas-

tle, in a typically Gothic style, is quadrangular with four

square towers at the corners. On the ground floor, in

front of the guard room, there is the chapel of St.

George, adorned with a colorful series of fresco decora-

tions in the Nordic style. In the old kitchen, there is fur-

niture and a collection of objects related to domestic

needs. The first floor houses the rooms of the nobility,

richly furnished, among which is the valuable "Bishop'sroom" with a coffered ceiling, a monumental door and

wood-paneled walls, that was used by the Prince Bishop

Alfonso Sigmund Thun. All the rooms on the second

and third floor are furnished with period pieces and dif-

ferent backgrounds, collections of glass, ceramics, porce-

lain, alabaster, silver and bronze. In these environments ,

there are displayeda rich collection of family paintings

created by Nordic, Italian and local painters. In several

of the rooms, there are beautiful old tile (olle majoli-

ca)stoves produced in Sfruz in Val di Non. In 1992, the

Autonomous Province of Trento, bought Castel Thunand proceed its complete restoration. As of April 17,

2010, at the conclusion of the work, the castle was

opened to visitors. The castle is the one of the exten-

sions of the Castle of Buonconsiglio in Trento that

houses monuments and collections of historical artifacts

from the Province. Other such extensions are the

Castel Beseno Besenello and the Castle of Stenico.

Written by Gianantonio Agosti - President --

Anastasia Val di Non -- Associazione delle Guide ai

Beni Sacri

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