Top 3 Castles around San Vito Di Cadore

From the outside, Andraz castle is beautiful, even though it is in ruins. It rises directly from the rock and integrates very well with the surrounding landscape, looking like a small Dolomite mountain itself. The entrance fee is 7 euros to walk on iron beams that make no effort to reconstruct the old atmosphere of the castle. A guide is not included. It is not worth investing time and money to climb steel stairs when you can freely walk on the Sentiero del Respiro and see the castle from above with all the surrounding panorama.

Built in the last two decades of the 19th century, under the Kingdom of Italy, the Forte di Monte Ricco constituted the heart of the entrenched camp of Pieve di Cadore. It was conceived and built to interdict enemy approaches from the Tre Ponti narrows towards Pieve and Tai along the Piave valley and to act in close synergy with the nearby Batteria Castello, about 200 meters away, as well as with the various artillery positions on the overlying heights, on Monte Tranego, Monte Zucco, Col Vidà. Monte Ricco was probably the site of a prehistoric settlement, then of the castle of Cadore. Abandoned until 2007, it has undergone demanding restoration, consolidation, and enhancement works. Reopened to the public in 2017, it hosts exhibitions or classical music concerts. https://www.tizianovecellio.it/luoghi/il-forte-di-monte-ricco/

In the Middle Ages, Buchenstein Castle housed an ore smelting furnace behind its walls. It also indirectly protected the nearby Fursil mines near Colle Santa Lucia from Venetian attacks. The profits from Buchenstein were claimed by the Diocese of Brixen—so aggressively, in fact, that the driving bishop, Nicholas of Cusa, had to be removed from office and compensated in Rome. https://t1p.de/hs51z

Here, someone has spent decades painstakingly collecting artifacts and documenting this man-made madness...and the guys haven't learned anything from it, except how to make a fortune (the Krupp family). $10 admission.

Andraz Castle, a defensive bastion for controlling the Alpine passes and the populations.

Even after more than 100 years, remains of the Italian positions from the First World War can still be found here.

An ancient manor house perched on a rocky spur. Open in summer for visiting.

The Forte di Monte Ricco, restored and reopened to the public in 2017, often hosts exhibitions and classical music concerts. However, it is advisable to call before visiting to check the opening of the main part. During a summer visit, in fact, it was found that access was allowed only by reservation. An entrance ticket is required but inexpensive. The Fort offers the possibility to walk around the front and internal perimeter, allowing appreciation of the pre-Roman structure. Protected by a moat and a drawbridge, the site also offers a panoramic view of Monte Cristallo. The Fort was built in the pre-Roman era with a defensive function, maintained also in Roman and medieval times. Before the year 1000, it was the seat of an important castle represented in the coat of arms of Cadore. From 1420 it became the seat of the Captain of Venice, but declined in the 17th century. During the Kingdom of Italy, two fortifications were built as part of the defensive system against Austria-Hungary. During the First World War, the Fort was relegated to a warehouse and logistics. Abandoned after 1918, restoration began in 2007 on the initiative of the Municipality of Pieve di Cadore, concluding in 2017.