Montegalda
Montegalda is a municipality on the edge of the Berici Hills, in the province of Vicenza, set in a fertile valley crossed by the B...
Updated 12 July 2026
The story
The story of Montegalda
Two thousand years of history in one castle
The origins of the Castello Grimani-Sorlini go back to a Roman watchtower of the third century, whose foundations still remain in the castle's inner courtyard, built to control the routes to Vicenza, Padua and Mantua and the nearby Bacchiglione river. The outpost was expanded by the Lombards and turned into a true military fortress in 1176, to defend the Vicenza territory. In the first half of the thirteenth century it came under the control of the Paduan tyrant Ezzelino III da Romano, then passed to the Paduans in 1266 and finally, in 1314, to the Scaligeri of Verona, who built the new tower with the drawbridge still visible today.
From fortress to noble residence
At the end of the fourteenth century the castle passed to the Visconti of Milan, before entering, from 1404, the orbit of the Republic of Venice, which put an end to inter-town wars and stripped the manor of its military role, turning it into a noble villa. In the mid-fifteenth century it was granted to the Vicenza family Chiericati, later passing over the following centuries to some of the most important families of the Venetian nobility: Contarini, Donà, Grimani and Marcello, who used it as a prestigious summer residence. Since the mid-1970s the castle has belonged to the Sorlini family, who restored it to its former splendour and opened part of it to visitors.
The MUVEC and Villa Fogazzaro-Colbachini
Just steps from the castle stands Villa Fogazzaro-Colbachini, whose park reflects the aesthetic vision of Don Giuseppe Fogazzaro, entrusted to the expertise of the architect Caregaro. Since March 2002, the villa has housed the MUVEC, the Veneto Bell Museum named after Daciano Colbachini, which honours the entrepreneurial tradition of the Colbachini family, active in bell foundry work since 1745. The collection, spread across about four hundred square metres in five rooms, gathers more than two hundred bells from Europe, China, Thailand, India and Ukraine, from Roman times to the present day, a heritage unique of its kind in Italy.
The Bacchiglione river and the landscape
The territory of Montegalda is defined by the course of the Bacchiglione, which crosses the valley and has historically ensured fertility for the surrounding fields, as well as serving as a route of communication and defence since Roman times. The seven hills surrounding the town, outliers of the Berici Hills, offer panoramic points over the valley and short hiking routes suited to a half-day outing. It is a still-intact agricultural and river landscape, which has allowed the castle and villa to keep a coherent natural setting around them, without the urban pressures that have transformed other parts of the Vicenza plain.
Visits and surroundings
The Castle of Montegalda and the MUVEC can be visited on specific occasions and by reservation, often during special openings and guided tours organised together with the villa's park, which is the best way to discover both sites. Montegalda is a short distance from Vicenza and the Berici Hills, in a convenient position for combining a visit to the castle and the bell museum with a wider itinerary among the Venetian villas and hilltop villages of the area, such as Longare and Costozza, known for their caves and cellars carved into the rock.
Experiences not to miss
- Visit the Castello Grimani-Sorlini and its many historical layers, from the Romans to today
- Discover the MUVEC, the Veneto Bell Museum, in Villa Fogazzaro-Colbachini
- Stroll through the villa's historic park, laid out in nineteenth-century taste
- Walk the seven hills surrounding the town for a view over the Bacchiglione valley
- Combine the visit with an itinerary among the Berici Hills villages, such as Longare and Costozza
To see
What to see in Montegalda
Routes · Trovido Route
