The large five-floor tower house from the 13th century was donated to the Thun family, who incorporated it into a new square building, the current Caldes Castle.
The inside is fascinating, with vaulted ceilings, wood panelling and frescoed rooms. Quite remarkable are the count’s room and the ballroom. After climbing the tower’s wooden staircase, you enter a room with frescoes all over the walls, telling ancient stories about the imprisonment of the unfortunate young countess Marianna Elisabetta Thun. Legend has it that the frescoes in the small room, known as Olinda’s prison, are her own work.
The Castle belongs to the Autonomous Province of Trento, that restored it and turned it into a prestigious venue for exhibitions and cultural events.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.