The castle Castel Fontana is a medieval castle which can be easily reached walking along the path taking you to Castel Tirolo. It was built in 1241 and then destroyed and re-built many times. It passed to many owners: the last one was the American poet Ezra Pound. After his death in 1972, the castle was turned into a Museum: the South Tyrolean Museum of Agriculture.
The origin of the name "Castel Fontana" (Brunneburg in German) is unknown. Either it comes from one of the fountains which existed in the environs, or from the name of one of its owners.
It was built by Wilhelm Tarant serving the Counts of Tyrol and after that it was bought by two brothers, Heinrich and Johann von Bopfingen (the first was the priest of Tirolo). These sold it to the chaplain Ulrich Putsch, who became the bishop of Bressanone. After some centuries it was bought by some peasants which used it as a farmhouse: the castle went through a long decay period.
In 1904 it was bought by the German manufacturer Karl Schwickert, who started to restore it changing its structure and its style. Anyway, this new owner died before the renovation finished and a new period of decay began. In 1955, the castle was bought by prince Boris de Rachewilz who turned it into a Museum of Agriculture. After his death, the building was inherited by the American poet Ezra Pound, who lived there until his death in 1972.
Nowadays Castel Fontana hosts the South Tyrolean Museum of Agriculture with traditional agriculture tools, an ethnographic collection and some antiques which were owned by Ezra Pound.
Further information:
Castel Fontana
Via Castello, 17
39019 Tirolo
Tel. +39 0473 923533
