Once seen from the south as the "key of the Alps" and from the north as the "key to Italy", Bellinzona today still reveals to the traveller a rich historical and geographical heritage dating from the Middle Ages, which lives on behind the austere charm of this Lombard town lying in the Alpine approaches. Its importance as crossroads on the ancient Gotthard highway between the Latin civilization and the Germanic world is plain to the eye. The alleys, squares, cdourtyards and old houses relate this to the passerby, but above all it is the three majestic castles with their rugged splendour and incomparable strength that tell of centuries of history written by Romans, Lombards, Swiss and Milanese. In complete harmony with this patrimony are the modern constructions of the celebrated Ticino school of architecture which create a living bond between past, present and future. Even the most inattentive traveller cannot help but be charmed and involved. The Castles of Bellinzona - These fortresses number among the finest examples of medieval fortification architecture in the alpine region. As they appear today, Bellinzona's fortifications, whose origins actually go much further back to a prehistoric settlement on Castelgrande hill, are mainly the result of intensive and complex building activity undertaken by the Dukes of Milan in the 15th century. The construction of powerful defence installations, which effectively formed a barrier right across the Ticino valley floor to halt the advance of the confederates, dates back to this period in history. These battlements, towers and gateway, included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2000, are still a source of wonder today.
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