Mesocco Castle

Bastions of Mesocco CastlePin

We just left Milan, great food and Sforza castle behind us. Traveling back to Biberach would take us over San Bernardino pass through Switzerland back to Germany. A 400 km route Google maps estimated would take us four hours and 45 minutes…

After four hours of traffic jam the ruins of Mesocco Castle slowly but steadily came closer. Fortunately it was one of the first 30+ degree spring days in 2019. The traffic jam didn’t look like it would get better any time soon and so we decided to leave the highway for a short break at the ruins.

We wanted to take the highway exit, but a Volunteer from the neighboring village blocked it to prevent the traffic jam attendees from taking a shortcut through the villages. It took a short conversation to convince him that we were heading to the ruins.

Mesocco Castle was just behind the highway exit. There was this little kiosk close by that provided us with some surprisingly good salami and mountain cheese before we’ve went the trail up to the ruins. To our surprise none of the other traffic jam attendees got the idea to have a short break for sight seeing.

The remains of Mesocco Castle's keep.Pin
Keep panorama into val MesolcinaPin

The ruin turned out to be surprisingly big. This was a major fortification once. Considering it guarded one of the main routes between Switzerland and Italy, the lord of castle must have had plenty of opportunity to collect road toll from merchants passing through. A business model that has not yet grown out of fashion. Anyway, if you’re interested in the castles history, check out its Wikipedia article. It’s well worth a read.

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Church Tower at Mesocco CastlePin

Visit Mesocco Castle

What's left of Mesocco Castle keepPin

This place is impossible to miss if you’re driving the San Bernardino route between Italy and Switzerland. Should you find yourself in traffic jam, you really want to spend a few hours for a break there. The ruins and the surrounding landscape are well worth it, and the time is much better spent than by being stuck on the freeway.

Oh and by the way, the whole trip took us 11 hours and 45 minutes. About a two hours of which we’ve spent at this place and the aforementioned kiosk, making this already unforgettable journey an even more pleasant memory. So in the end, it wasn’t that bad.

If you need some more information, have a look at Mesocco’s webpage at the official website of Switzerland Tourism.

Bailey at the main gatePin

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