CAST – Il Castello delle Storie di Montagna

About the museum

Castello Masegra is the only medieval military structure in Sondrio to have survived intact and still in use. It was the feudal seat of the Capitanei, lords of the city, and in the 15th and 16th centuries the Beccaria family turned it into an elegant noble residence. Towards the end of the 16th century it passed to the Salis Soglio family, a powerful Grisons family, who turned it into an agricultural estate. After the annexation of Sondrio to the Napoleonic Cisalpine Republic it was confiscated and used as a barracks; from the Second World War it housed a military district office.

Today the complex belongs to the Comune di Sondrio. Restorations in the 1980s brought to light the Camera Picta, in the dovecote tower: a Renaissance room with an umbrella vault frescoed with episodes from Ariosto's Orlando furioso; at the entrance to the first level there are also frescoes of the Wheel of Fortune, winged lions, chamois and swallows.

CAST – Il Castello delle Storie di Montagna is a narrative museum set up in the central body of the castle. The multimedia route, curated by Marco Albino Ferrari and created by the Milan studio Studio Azzurro, unfolds over three levels with video projections, immersive devices and stories, devoted to the three “A”s of Alpine culture: Arrampicata (climbing) on the ground floor, Alpinismo (mountaineering) on the first floor and Ambiente (environment) on the second floor. Visitors are asked whether they feel more like climbers or explorers: the former climb up from the bottom, the latter start at the environmental observatory at the top and come down.

Highlights

• Three-level multimedia route by Studio Azzurro
• Three themes: climbing, mountaineering and the environment
• Camera Picta with Renaissance frescoes
• Two visit routes: from the bottom as a climber, or from the top as an explorer
• Environmental observatory on the second floor

Permanent exhibitions

• CAST – percorso multimediale permanente – Three-level route curated by Marco Albino Ferrari and devised by Studio Azzurro on the themes of climbing, mountaineering and the environment.
• Camera Picta – Renaissance room of the dovecote tower with umbrella vault and frescoes, rediscovered in the restorations of the 1980s.

Operated by

Comune di Sondrio

Visitors per year

approx. 9,637

Admission & discounts

Free admission also for guides and tourist interpreters accompanying groups, members of MiC and ICOM, accredited journalists, holders of the Abbonamento Musei Lombardia and certain categories of students and teachers. For reductions and free admission, a document proving membership of the category must be shown.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum is accessible to wheelchair users. Vehicles carrying people with disabilities can enter the castle courtyard after contact and booking.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

From the railway station the castle is reached on foot by a route of just over 1 km (directions on the Visit Sondrio website). Vehicles carrying people with disabilities can enter the castle courtyard by prior booking.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit