Soave

If you are looking for a destination for a tourist trip around Verona, Soave is definitely the destination for you. The village with the castle and the surrounding area offer many possibilities for guided tours on historical and artistic themes, food and wine experiences in the many wineries in the area, naturalistic excursions.

Contacts

For more information or to contact a tourist guide of Soave:

veronatour@gmail.com

Soave Guide

Soave castleThe main attraction of this territory is certainly the castle of Soave. From the top of Mount Tenda it dominates the village below and the plain that surrounds it with its expanses of vineyards. The castle is clearly visible in the distance already from the highway when you approach the exit of Soave.
The castle, as we can see today, is the result of the enlargement wanted by Cansignorio della Scala, lord of Verona, at the end of the 14th century. The castle is as typical as you can imagine when you think of a medieval manor, with towers, high crenellated walls, patrol walkways, drawbridges and shutters, dungeons and torture rooms, armors and echoes of contrasting love stories between noble ladies and knights.
A tour guide of the castle of Soave can accompany you on an in-depth visit illustrating all aspects of the fortress and making you relive the atmosphere of times gone by.

The Village

antenna square in SoaveStrictly linked to the presence of the castle of Soave is the village below, protected by walls and towers that extend from the keep of the manor.
From the Scala family fortress it is possible to reach the center of the village along an picturesque panoramic path.
In the heart of the town is Piazza Antenna, with the flagpole donated by Venice in the center to thank the villagers of Soave for their loyalty to the Republic of San Marco during the war against the Cambrai League at the beginning of the 16th century. From it waved the great flag of Venice, still hoisted during holidays and historical re-enactments.
The square is completed by Palazzo Cavalli, an elegant example of late-Gothic Venetian architecture, and the old Palazzo della Ragione, the ancient court of the Scala era.
The walkway along the ancient walls of the village with its towers and ancient access doors is also very suggestive.

Roman Age

The history of Soave dates back to Roman times. Right where today the A4 Milan-Venice motorway runs, from the middle of the second century BC, ran the Via Postumia, one of the most important roads in northern Italy, which connected the two important ports of Genoa and Aquileia. The Via Postumia, like all the roads on which the Roman army moved, was first of all a military infrastructure, and as such guarded by watchtowers that interspersed along its route. On Mount Tenda, where today stands the castle of Soave almost certainly was built one of these watchtowers. Standing on the high fourteenth-century keep that dominates the plain and the traffic of the motorway, you can still understand its perfect strategic position.

Barbaric Invasions

Along the ancient Via Postumia also marched the barbarians who from across the Alps invaded the rich territories of the Roman Empire from the third to fourth century AD. Near the tower, where probably settlements had arisen, one of the many Germanic tribes that made up the varied barbarian world settled: the Swabians. From a progressive mutation of the pronunciation of the Latin word "Svevi" in "Suebi" or "Suevi", would derive the name of the village: Soave. The new occupants probably expanded and reinforced the outpost on the hill that began to take the appearance of a fortress.

Scala Family

The castle of Soave maintained, and indeed increased its strategic role, with the rise to power in Verona of the Scala family from the second half of 1200. The castle became an important outpost for the skirmishes against the Count of San Bonifacio of whom they were adversaries, and for the subsequent expansion of their possessions to the east.
It was Cansignorio della Scala, the last of the great Scala lords, who enlarged the castle and extended the walls to defend the entire village. Previously, in fact, the population of the defenseless village, in case of danger, found shelter inside the first two large empty courtyards of the castle.

Venice

Like all Scala family possessions, Soave also became part of the state of the Republic of Venice in 1405. A garrison and a captain appointed by the Serenissima Republic took the place of the Scala feudal lord and his soldiers.
At the beginning of 1500 Venice was faced with the threat of the League of Cambrai, an alliance between the Holy Roman Empire, France and Spain, promoted by the Pope against an increasingly powerful lagoon republic. Soave was easily occupied by the imperial troops, and many villagers were slaughtered for refusing to surrender to the new occupiers.

Decadence and Rebirth

In the end the League broke up and Soave returned to Venice, but the new technologies of war, with the introduction of gunpowder, soon made the castles, once impregnable if not with long sieges, useless and fragile residues of an era now past.
The castle of Soave was then abandoned, slowly going into ruin until it was transformed into a farm.
After the annexation of Verona to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, the castle of Soave was purchased by Giulio Camuzzoni, the first mayor of Verona and senator of the Kingdom with a passion for history. He put resources and energy into the restoration of the ancient fortress, restoring its dignity and recreating a part of the interior. The castle is still private property and is open to the public with regular visiting hours.

The Wine

vineyards, on the background the castle

No less famous than the Castle is certainly the Soave wine, still one of the most exported white wines in Italy. Soave DOC is produced mainly from Garganega grapes, a native vine that grows exclusively in this area, to which can be added small percentages of Chardonnay and Trebbiano di Soave.

Garganega grapes, SoaveOne of the things that most impresses visitors who climb to the top of the keep of the castle of Soave and admire the extraordinary panorama of the valley and the surrounding hills, is the endless expanse of vineyards. A real "sea of grapes" that is harvested in Autumn, pressed and transformed into tasty wine in the many wineries in the area. The best part of this grape is selected and left to dry on racks and in wooden crates in special floors above the wineries. The liquid content is reduced and the sugar content is increased, while at the same time developing very special aromas. The grapes will then be pressed in winter and will become the precious Recioto di Soave, a refined sweet wine for meditation or for pairing with desserts and cheeses.

Cellar Tours

uve di soave in appassimento sui tradizionali graticciThe natural completion of a guided tour of the Castle of Soave and the village, is a visit to the winery with tasting of wines and local products. In Soave and the surrounding cellars up to Monteforte d'Alpone, there are many wineries that you can visit. Some of them are right inside the village or very close to it, such as Corte Mainente, Coffele, Pieropan, Cantina del Castello or Borgo Rocca Sveva, or in a panoramic position. The visit includes a walk in the vineyards, a stop in the barrel room and a tasting of a selection of wines that you can accompany some local products such as Soppressa Veneta, Monte Veronese cheese, Sbrisolona. From October to January it is also possible to see the grapes for the production of Recioto di Soave in the drying of the fruit.

For more information and details on guided tours in the province of Verona:

veronatour@gmail.com