4 Iconic Buildings to Explore in Ticino

Checkout places to visit in Ticino

Ticino

The canton is named after the river Ticino, it is the only canton where Italian is the sole official language and represents the bulk of the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland. Ticino hosts two World Heritage sites: the Three Castles of Bellinzona and Monte San Giorgio.

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Iconic Buildings to Explore in Ticino

Castles of Bellinzona

The castles of Bellinzona are one of Ticino's main attractions and, with the old walls that are still standing, are the sole medieval military complex in the Alpine region. They became part of the UNESCO World Heritage in 2000. Castelgrande, also known as Castello di San Michele or Burg Uri, is the oldest of these 13th-century castles. Two towers, Torre Nera and Torre Bianca dominate Bellinzona's Old Town. The Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Art are located in the Castelgrande.

Montebello Castle

The castle of Montebello is located in Bellinzona. Its previous names were "little castle", "New Castle" and "middle castle" from the fourteenth to 1506, then Castle of Schwyz until 1818 and finally to San Martino Castle. The medieval complex to which it belongs, which includes Castelgrande, Sasso Corbaro and the walls connecting them, since 2000 is part of the UNESCO. Today it houses the Archaeology and History Section of the Municipal Museum of the city's origins.

Piazza Grande

The historic core of Locarno extends from the slopes of the Cimetta to the ancient bank of the Verbano towards which the front of porticoed buildings on the north-west side of today's Piazza Grande opened. The alleys leading up to the old town, characterized by several ancient buildings, depart from the Piazza Grande. The front of arcaded buildings at the foot of the hill, once located near the shore of the lake, is dominated by the civic tower referable to the fortifications commissioned by the

Visconteo Castle

The Castello Visconteo, now an archaeological museum, is located on the edge of the old town and was built in the 12th century, probably as the residence of a Captain Orelli, who remained true to the Emperor. In 1260, it fell into the hands of the Ghibellines. In 1342 the Visconti of Milan, for whom it is now named, attacked the castle from both the land and the lake side and took it. It first came into the hands of the Eidgenossen in 1503.

Map of Iconic Buildings to explore in Ticino