The Feltre Castle, better known as Alboino Castle, according to historical research, was built on a pre-existing Roman watchtower by the famous Lombard king. The Castle is positioned at the highest point of the Hill and was completely surrounded by walls with four corner towers, according to the traditional composition of manors present throughout the area. The northern tower, corresponding to the Clock Tower, was called the Powder Tower, and only its foundations remain.
A fortress to dominate the city since its construction in the 12th century, the castle has overlooked, with its prominent presence, the inhabited center of Feltre. Visually, it conveyed the dominance of the bishop count's higher power over the community. It is a building that has inextricably linked its fate to the history of the people of Feltre. It has long been a safe refuge for the bishop of Feltre and then for the Da Camino lords, captains of Treviso, Belluno, and Feltre. During the reigns of the 14th century, it hosted military garrisons of distant masters, who dominated the city thanks to military captains: Scaligers, Habsburgs, Carraresi, Hungarians. Even with the Serenissima, it was for long periods an inaccessible and threatening fortress. Only in the early 1500s, after the fire of 1510, did the community reclaim the castle for a few years: the great hall on the first floor of the palace became the seat of the Community Council. Thus, the old fortress was made brighter and adorned with precious frescoes by the best artists of the Feltre valley. Even after the end of military uses, the Campanon continued to mark the rhythms of civil life, with its chimes audible for kilometers, while the clock on the tower regulated the times of trade and economic activities.
Above the entrance door on the ground floor, three coats of arms are sculpted in bas-relief: the one in the center features a towered castle, which is the emblem of the City. On the southern facade of the Campanon was painted a lion of Saint Mark, symbol of the Republic of Venice that governed the city from 1404 to 1797.
Currently, the two towers that have recently been restored are open to visit.
