What is Rovereto known for?

Mario Botta's 2002 circular museum, the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in the Italian Alps, anchored by Fortunato Depero and the Italian Futurists. Eleven-tonne Maria Dolens on the Colle di Miravalle, cast from cannons of every nation that fought in the First World War, rung every evening for the dead of all sides. Castelbarco fortress expanded by Venice in 1416 and given to Habsburg Austria in 1509, now home to the Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra founded in 1921.

Rovereto is a comune in the province of Trento, Trentino-South Tyrol region of Italy, about 30 kilometers from Trento.

Trentino-South Tyrol · Trento

Rovereto

The Vallagarina citywhere a Venetian-Austrian castle holds the Italian war museum and a Mario Botta dome holds Italy's largest contemporary art collection.

30 km / 19 mi

Nearest hub (Trento)

39,809

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Città del Vino

Why come

Rovereto sitsin the Vallagarina, halfway between Trento and Verona on the Adige plain. The fourteenth-century Castello di Rovereto rises above the Leno torrent at the southern edge of the centre, built by the Castelbarco, expanded into a four-bastioned fortress by the Venetians from 1416, and handed to the Habsburgs in 1509 after the Venetian defeat at Agnadello. The castle now houses the Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra, founded in 1921 to document the First World War on the Italian-Austrian front that ran through these mountains. On the hill of Miravalle above the city stands the Campana dei Caduti, named Maria Dolens, cast from the bronze of cannons from every nation that fought in the war and rung every evening since 1925 for the dead of all sides. The MART, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, opened in 2002 in a circular Mario Botta building with a glass-and-steel dome over the entrance plaza and holds works by Depero, who lived and worked in Rovereto, alongside Morandi, de Chirico, Casorati and Carrà.

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Gallery

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Known for

Castello di Rovereto
Fourteenth-century Castelbarco fortress on the Leno torrent, expanded by the Venetians with four bastions in 1416 and handed to Habsburg Austria in 1509.
MART
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, opened in 2002 in a circular Mario Botta building, with a permanent collection including Depero, Morandi, de Chirico and Carrà.
Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra
Founded in 1921 inside the Castello, documents the First World War on the Italian-Austrian front through uniforms, trench artefacts, prints and personal testimonies.
Campana dei Caduti (Maria Dolens)
Eleven-tonne bell on the Colle di Miravalle, cast from cannon bronze of every nation that fought in the First World War, rung every evening since 1925.
Casa d'Arte Futurista Depero
Studio-museum of the Futurist painter Fortunato Depero, the only museum founded by a Futurist artist himself, with tapestries, paintings and graphic design.
Centro storico
Network of porticoed streets between Piazza Rosmini and the castle, with Venetian and Habsburg facades, the Borgo Sacco quarter and the old silk-trade palazzi.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September through October are the working months for Rovereto, with the Vallagarina mild and the MART, the war museum and the Campana all on full schedule. May brings the Festival Mozart and the spring concert season. September is festival month, with the Oriente Occidente contemporary dance programme and the wine harvest across the surrounding slopes. July and August hit thirty-five degrees in the valley floor; the centro storico empties in the afternoons. November through March is quiet but the major museums stay open year-round, and the city centre keeps moving with the university and the school of music. Fog from the Adige settles in some January mornings.