CASTELLO BONORIS

In 1890, the young banker Gaetano Bonoris (1861-1923), having received the title of nobility from King Umberto I of Savoy, purchased the remains of the ancient Fortress of Montichiari, which dominates the town from the hill of San Pancrazio. The intention was to rebuild it to make it his own residence and recreate a personal idea of the Middle Ages translated into a fairy-tale and imposing architecture, capable of making the romantic and neo-feudal dream of the new 'Count of Montichiari' evident to all. The reconstruction of the castle in neo-Gothic style was initially entrusted to the Brescian architect Antonio Tagliaferri, but following some disagreements it was completed by Bonoris himself with the help of a new designer, Carlo Melchiotti. Only in this second phase, perhaps to speed things up, was the Borgo and Rocca Medievali of Turin adopted as the ideal prototype, built in 1884 on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition, and reproducing in their entirety the most famous examples of 14th and 15th century architecture in Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta, such as the castles of Fenis or Issogne.

MontichiariMusei is an urban museum system recognised by the Region of Lombardy and established in 2009 by the Municipality of Montichiari to enhance the tangible and intangible heritage of its civic museums. The Bonoris Castle, the Lechi Museum, the Pasinetti Art Gallery, the Bergomi Museum, the Historical Museum of the Risorgimento, and the Palace of Archaeology and History of the Territory are part of the museum system.