Castello di Alboino, Medieval castle in Feltre, Italy

The Castello di Alboino occupies the highest point of the Colle delle Capre in Feltre. Its medieval walls, now partly ruined, once ran parallel to today's Via Luzzo. The original entrance was through the Torre dell'Orologio on its west side, where a bas-relief dated 1324 with the coat of arms of Cangrande della Scala is still walled at mid-height. The present access is via Salita Ramponi, created after the 1510 fire.

Tradition dates the first castle to 570 under the Lombards, though the earliest documented attestation comes only in the 11th century. Feltre gave itself to the Republic of Venice in 1404, and in 1421 Venice spared this castle while razing others because of the town's position near the Tyrolean border. Troops of Maximilian I burned the wooden town in 1510; the castle survived and was later used as an arsenal.

The castle is known in the local Feltrino dialect as Castèl de Alboìn. Its name recalls Alboin, the Lombard king under whom tradition places the first construction in 570. The Rectors' lodging built beside the clock tower in the 16th century still shows fragments of exterior frescoes.

You climb to the castle via Salita Nicolò Ramponi street, which leads up from Piazza Maggiore. Guided tours through the local tourism office are the best way to explore the interior spaces.

The clock tower's weather vane is a crescent of Middle Eastern origin; a 1571 Lepanto war-trophy story is disproved by 17th-century drawings showing a bell on top. It was likely added in the late 19th century, was used for target practice by Austro-Hungarian soldiers in World War I, broke in half, and was restored in 2017.