Castles & ruins 37: Bellinzona Fort Castelgrande, CH

 The hill of Castelgrande has been inhabited since 5500–5000 BC (Neolithic settlement).

It was fortified by Romans, later by Lombards and Franks. The main structures of today’s castle date from the 13th–15th centuries, especially under the Visconti of Milan. Today it is a museum and could be visited all year round free.

Together with Montebello and Sasso Corbaro, it’s part of the UNESCO Bellinzona Fortresses. Over the centuries, as borders shifted and nations rose and fell, the castle cloaked itself in countless legends, some of usual type: about the “Miraculous Defense” when a single defender hurled a spear that struck the enemy commander with impossible precision. The opposing army panicked and fled. Or the Tales of Hidden Tunnels and Secret Passages leading to other castles or even other worlds. There is (of course!) the White Lady walking on castle walls all night looking for her knight long dead in battle, and so on.

But there is certainly a list of an original Castelgrande legends, as the one about its Black Tower: Inside the Black Tower, guards once played a cruel game: they would lock cowards or traitors inside and leave them in total darkness for days. Some went mad. Legend says that if you knock three times on the tower wall, you may hear a whisper answering from inside. The opposite White Tower has voice of its own: you still can hear the whispers of a child who lived in the castle centuries ago — the neglected son of a noble. He spent most of his days hidden in the White Tower attic, playing alone with carved wooden toys. One day he vanished without a trace, and the toys were found scattered as if tossed by invisible hands. People say that if you climb the tower after sunset, you may hear a small giggle, the rolling of a wooden ball and soft footsteps behind you, but when you turn around, the room is empty.

There were many prisoners in the towers, and some of them were executed in the castle yard, like a Bellinzona witch. Before her execution, she cast a final spell on a polished metal shield hanging on the wall: for those who dare gaze into it at midnight, the reflection shows the castle as it was centuries ago, bustling with knights and servants. But if you stare too long, the legend warns, one of the figures in the reflection will turn to look directly at you and get you inside for service, so careless curious viewers will have to be the castle defenders of the old time. There is no escape from this service.

Apart from prisoners, the castle towers keep a mystery treasure, it is locked with four enchanted keys: one of iron (strength), one of silver (truth), one of gold (power), one of crystal (memory). When combined, they would open a hidden chamber somewhere inside the cliff itself, containing a treasure “not of gold, but of destiny.” If you get it – you will be in charge of your own fate and fortunes of others. Some claim the keys still exist — scattered in secret places throughout Bellinzona.

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From above: Bellinzona Castlegrande