Castello della Regina Cornaro

Set into the south-west corner of Asolo’s walls, the Castle of Queen Caterina Cornaro preserves the memory of a Renaissance court. In 1489 the Republic of Venice installed Caterina Cornaro, formerly queen of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia, as Lady of Asolo. The complex later housed civic and military functions and now contains the Teatro Eleonora Duse.

Why it matters

The castle’s history reflects Asolo’s changing political role. It was the seat of the Venetian podestà from 1339 and became Caterina Cornaro’s residence in 1489. Her court attracted humanists, artists and musicians; Pietro Bembo set the dialogues of Gli Asolani in the castle and its gardens. The great hall where the podestà held court is now the auditorium of the Teatro Eleonora Duse.

What to notice

Three of the four medieval towers survive in some form: the Civic Tower, the Reata tower, once used as a prison, and the Carro tower, incorporated into the neighbouring house La Torricella. The former church of San Biagio stood in the courtyard. Its 1459 Madonna and Child fresco by Dario da Treviso is now preserved in the Civic Museum. Charcoal drawings made by soldiers detained in the Civic Tower during the First World War remain on its ground-floor walls.

Context and history

The castle’s origins are uncertain; it may correspond to the castrum Asyli named in a document of 969. Ezzelino da Romano resided there in 1242. The complex passed from the Bishop of Treviso to the da Romano family and then to the Commune of Treviso. By the late fourteenth century it had been incorporated into Asolo’s town walls and joined to the Rocca above. After Caterina Cornaro’s residence, the castle served administrative and military purposes. French troops were stationed there in 1797, and the Pretoria Hall was converted into a theatre in 1798. In the nineteenth century, the western side was demolished and the buildings were adapted as a prison. An 1862 survey by engineer Ausilio Manera, based on an 1811 map, documents the complex after these losses.