9 Best Sights in Bellinzona, Ticino

Although this castle was first mentioned in a 6th-century document, the current structure dates from the 1200s. The massive exterior is dominated by two heavy, unmatched towers and the remaining portion of a crenellated wall that once stretched all the way to the river. Modern renovations have added an elaborate complex of restaurants and museums that include historical and archaeological exhibitions. The 14th-century ceiling murals, created to embellish the wooden ceiling of a local villa (now demolished), offer a peek at privately commissioned decorative art. A dramatic audiovisual history of Bellinzona and the Ticino Valley is shown in one room.

The most striking of Bellinzona's three castles has a core section that dates from the 13th century. The palace and courtyard, both from the 15th century, are encircled by walls with spectacular walkways on top. The center structure houses the attractive, modern Museo Civico (Municipal Museum) and the Museo Archeologico (Archaeology Museum), with exhibits on local history and architecture, including an impressive collection of Gothic and Renaissance stone capitals.

This massive and forbidding fieldstone construction's almost complete absence of curves is typical of the Sforza style. It was designed by a Florentine military engineer and built in 1479 for the Duke of Milan, who insisted that the work be completed in six months, as indeed it was. Temporary art exhibitions are held in the belvedere and in the Emma Paglia Room. Ambitious walkers can reach the castle in about 45 minutes by treading uphill from Castello di Montebello along a switchback road through woods; if you're driving, follow the signs to Artore.

With its heavy-column arcades, wrought-iron balconies, and shuttered facades, Bellinzona's Old Town exhibits the direct influence of medieval Lombardy. The small area is distinguished by red cobblestones.

The sober, late-Renaissance facade of the Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Stephen, begun in the 16th century, stands across from the Castelgrande. Its baroque interior is richly decorated with frescoes and stuccowork by a host of Ticino artists. Of particular note is the late-18th-century Crucifixion attributed to Simone Peterzano that serves as the central altar painting.

The earliest records of the Church of St. Mary of Grace date from the 15th century, when it was part of a Franciscan monastery. Now it's a retirement home. The church's most remarkable feature is the huge fresco painted by an unknown Lombard artist some time around 1500 on the wall segmenting the main nave. It depicts the Crucifixion in the center, surrounded by 15 vignettes from the life of Christ.

One of Bellinzona's two Italianate churches, St. Biagio is a spare medieval treasure guarded on the exterior by an outsize fresco of a soldierly Christ. The 12th-century late-Romanesque structure suggests a transition into Gothic style. Alternating natural red brick and gray stone complement fragments of exquisitely colored 14th-century frescoes.

The city's art gallery sporadically mounts worthwhile exhibits of pieces from its collection, donated by private citizens. Behind the garden and grounds, the city maintains a tiny vineyard used to produce its very own Merlot, available for sale inside.

This splendid Renaissance structure was rebuilt in the 1920s. Its courtyard is framed by two stacked rows of delicate vaulted arcades decorated with sgraffiti (layered tinted plaster) depicting Bellinzona in the 19th century. The top floor consists of an airy loggia.