Italy · Restored
CastelBrando
CastelBrando is a large medieval castle on a dolomite limestone rock above Cison di Valmarino in northern Italy, originating as a Roman castrum and extensively enlarged in the Middle Ages and early modern period. Today it has been restored and houses a hotel, museum and theatre while visible remains of its Roman foundations and later battlements remain integral to the complex.
Its prime
1700
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1700
The shape it held in its prime.
Perched on a limestone outcrop, the complex is dominated by a pale, multi-storey Sansovino-style palazzo with tiled roofs and regular rows of rectangular windows, many later fitted with Venetian Gothic double and triple mullioned openings; a semicircular terrace with arched arcades fronts the lower face. Stone curtain walls with crenellated battlements and several square towers enclose inner buildings including a small church with a classical façade and two slim bell towers, all set amid tall cypress and cedar trees on steep wooded slopes.
Its story
The story of CastelBrando.
CastelBrando — formerly Castrum Costae — sits on a dolomite limestone rock 370 metres above sea level, overlooking Cison di Valmarino and Valmareno, and originated as a Roman castrum. During the 13th century it was substantially enlarged under the Da Camino family, who lived there from 1233 to 1335; Gherardo III da Camino, the great Italian feudal lord and military leader, was born in the castle in 1240.
Ownership then passed to the Republic of Venice, which awarded the fiefdom first to Marin Faliero and then to the condottieri Giovanni Brandolino and Erasmo da Narni, better known as "Gattamelata". The castle takes its name from Brando I of the Brandolini, an ancient family from Forlì; in 1700 the family commissioned Ottavio Scotti, architect and Count of Treviso, to design and build an extension to the southern part of the castle.
After the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797 the castle became the property of the Brandolini Counts. Restored over ten years at the expense of Count Girolamo IV Brandolini, it reopened as a residence in 1929, and in 1959 the family sold it to the Salesian fathers, who altered it for use as a monastery and centre for spiritual studies. Today it is restored, housing a hotel, museum and theatre.
Step inside
10 places to explore in 1700.
The record describes 10 distinct spots at CastelBrando — including 1 interior: church of san martino (chapel) interior. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate CastelBrando with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1700 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held CastelBrando.
The families that held CastelBrando for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Da Camino
Held by the Da Camino family, who enlarged the castle and lived there from 1233 to 1335.
Brandolini
Fief of the condottiere Giovanni Brandolino under Venice; the Brandolini Counts held the castle until its sale to the Salesian fathers in 1959.
