Scaliger Castle of Malcesine

Malcesine Castle, located on the rock of the namesake town, dominates the medieval village and the northeastern shore of Lake Garda from above, in a border position between Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige. The castle, of Lombard origin, assumed its current configuration during the Scaliger and Venetian eras, with expansions descending from the fortress towards the lake. Inside, the buildings house a natural history museum and a museum dedicated to Goethe, who described it in his “Italian Journey”. A tourist destination throughout the year, it is considered one of the most beautiful and best-preserved castles in Italy.

The lighting design project for Malcesine Castle stems from the observation of the structure and the study of its historical evolution. The primary idea was to illuminate the portions pertaining to different historical periods with variable shades of white, emphasizing the perception of volumes and avoiding flattening of perspective. Considering the Castle as a central nucleus that has been stratified over time, we used a very warm tone of 2200K for the keep, a less warm 3000K for the Scaliger part, up to a cooler white of 4000K, more in line with the color of water, for the Venetian-era portions. The LED projectors were strategically positioned, reusing existing locations as much as possible to contain the costs of expanding the electrical system. The lighting project, in addition to the monumental aspect, develops on three other levels: the illumination of internal paths, which allows for evening opening of the monument, achieved through the integrated design of lighting systems with existing parapets; a scenographic lighting system for temporary events, with the installation of RGB fixtures; the use of laser projectors for reproducing images on two distinct walls of the keep, to communicate special events to the community. These latter devices, like the entire lighting system, can be remotely managed for real-time modifications.