Plan your visit
The visit to the Museum and Castle is divided into two parts: the first is dedicated to the history of armies and wars between the nineteenth century and the First World War; the second focuses on the Castle’s architecture and the collections of Modern Era weapons (15th-18th century). From May to October, it is also possible to visit the section Artillery of the Great War – 1914-18, accessible from Piazza del Podestà , a few steps from the ticket office.
A complete visit takes at least an hour and a half. The itinerary in the Castle can be visited up to half an hour before closing, for this reason we invite you to choose in advance the sections that interest you most.
izi.TRAVEL: the Museum’s free audio guide
Discover the free app that guides you through the Museum and Castle, with dedicated itineraries, audio and photos. Listen to the audio guide on your smartphone by downloading the free izi.TRAVEL app.
War between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
The first rooms you find along the way show you how soldiers’ equipment and combat methods evolved between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including an interesting insight into the Italian Risorgimento, illustrated by our important collection of patriotic ceramics.
This is followed by numerous rooms dedicated to the First World War, with weapons, documents, pictures, everyday objects and testimonies from soldiers and civilians. The exhibitions take us through technological innovations, the mobilisation of armies, the consequences of the conflict on the civilian population and the creations of consensus through war propaganda.
The Museum exhibits only part of its vast heritage, while its archives preserve uniforms, artillery, military vehicles, artistic objects and much more.
The Castle and weapons of the modern age
The visit takes you into the restored spaces of Rovereto Castle, its numerous tunnels and passageways and the terreplein built in the Venetian age. Here you can discover how the architecture and appearance of the fortress have evolved over the centuries.
The Museum’s oldest collections are exhibited in the Marino and Malipiero towers: a small collection of prehistoric and protohistoric weapons, blacksmith tools, hunting weapons and then armour, bladed weapons and firearms from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era.
Artillery of the Great War 1914-18
Housed in a Second World War air-raid shelter at the foot of the Castle, in Piazza PodestĂ , the Museum exhibits over forty pieces of Italian, Austro-Hungarian, German and British artillery from the First World War with a wide range of recently revised texts and images.
Temporary exhibitions
During the year, the Museum’s collections are enhanced with small temporary exhibitions that, for space reasons, can’t be housed in the permanent exhibitions or preserved in the archives. It also promotes exhibitions in other venues, the result of collaborations with national and international bodies and institutions.