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An aristocratic family like the Navonas, in fierce and bloody competition for power with other families, would not only have a
fortified tower house in the main city, but as many castles as they could control. Much like the Navonas and Riatas, in the real history of the area
the Arco family contested with the noblemen of the Brno and Seiano families and managed to lose and regain a number of the castles, along with rights
to control the road into the Alps and collect customs.
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Above: looking down on "Monteverde" (the real town of Arco) from the d'Arco castle above. The lake is just visible beyond the outcropping
in the right background. The castles in this area were crucial: this valley has been the road for invading armies into northern Italy for many centuries.
The fields here are vineyards, apples and olive groves. One of the d'Arco brothers was cast into a one-room rock prison here for 30 years...in a small dispute
over ownership rights.
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Farther north, into the mountains, I found the Castle Drena d'Arco. It is a ruin, utterly haunting as it stands above its valley in the mountain mists. If anyone is looking for Allegreto, I would suggest starting here. ;)
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A rather daunting approach, especially for the unwanted visitor...
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 Drena has been partially reconstructed, but still it doesn't really look anything like what it would have in the 14th century. The walls would have been taller, the area would have felt more enclosed. |
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The stone walls were probably
covered in stucco, possibly frescoed in bright colors if the owner could afford or cared for such luxuries. The courtyard
would have been uneven and, in this area, probably rocks and mud. There would likely have been balconies, parapet walks
and covered stairs. But the hints are there...a few fragments of herringbone yellow bricks in former rooms, 3 fading stairs
once carved into the limestone rock, leading up to a small chapel that no longer stands.
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It's interesting to me that the rock
outcropping itself is an integral part of the fabric of the buildings and courtyards; the way the wildflowers grow in the crevices
of the rock. I look for details like that to create my scenes.
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The roofs would also have changed the appearance greatly. Below is another castle, Roncolo, much farther north in the city of Bolzano, which retains its roofs and some very interesting frescoes from the 14th century. It's a different stone, darker and redder than the limestone of Castle Drena, which creates an entirely different effect. So I try to pick and choose and combine these details to create my Navona stronghold. |
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Quite a different look, just by adding roof, balcony and frescoes! This region
has always been a transition zone between Italy and South Tyrol (Bolzano itself was Austrian until this century; German is the
dominant language.) Moving north from Lake Garda, it's as if where the vineyards and olive trees give way to hay and cattle
that the architecture and culture changes from Italian to Tyrolian, but there is no specific dividing line. |
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To the left is a similar courtyard in the Tuscan town of San Gemignano; I would place Monteverde's style somewhere between these two extremes |
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Back to Castle Drena and some 13th century dishes on display there--looking quite a bit
like what you can buy today in Tuscan hill towns. This kind of thing is invaluable for me to have an idea of what people were
touching and seeing daily.
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In the valley below Drena, the Roman road carried travelers, merchants
and armies. From the castle tower, you have a pretty good view of what mischief might be going on down there...
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