Palazzo Besta is a Renaissance building in Teglio. It was built by the Besta family around 1433, commissioned by Azzo I and Azzo II Besta, perhaps over a pre-existing medieval edifice. Later it was owned by the Guicciardi, Quadrio and Parravicini families. It is now owned by the government of the province of Lombardy.
The interior has a rectangular court with a double loggia, frescoed walls (c. 1540-1630) and an octagonal well. In the first floor, all the rooms are frescoed with mythological themes, most of them from the Aeneid, the Orlando Furioso and the Bible. One, by Giuseppe Prina, portrays the Queen of Sheba received by King Solomon.
In the lower ground is housed the 'Antiquarium Tellinum' Museum, housing prehistorical slabs.
References:Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.