“Gefängnis Le Carceri” Gallery

In Caldaro there's a historic building, which once was used as prison of the Caldaro County Court. Previously, the castle of the Lords of Rottenburg stood in this place - the dynasty which gave its name to the eponymous square in front of it. In the 17th century, the decayed castle was replaced by Claudia de' Medici, Regent of the Austrian County of Tyrol, by the Caldaro County Court.

Those 'vecchie carceri' (old prisons), how they were called in Italian, remained in function until the Seventies. Since the end of the 20th century the historic building, in the meantime owned by the Province of Bolzano, has been housing the social support services. Its greater parts, however, that's to say the cell block and the premises dating back to the Baroque period of the 17th and 18th century, were restored in exemplary manner and have been diverted to cultural purposes. The dimensions of the old rooms full of nooks and crannies with the barred windows are still original, whereas the wooden floors and parts of the stairway structure were replaced.

And right here, since 2005 the art gallery known as 'Gefängnis Le Carceri', the German and Italian words for prison, has been located. It offers a very special atmosphere for artists and visitors alike. Every year several exhibitions of contemporary art take place, where two artists - one of them coming from South Tyrol - enter into dialogue. And how to reach the art gallery? It can be found between the Piazza del Mercato (Market Square) and the Piazza Rottenburg squares in Caldaro village (Kaltern Dorf). The latter offers a bus stop as well as parking possibilities.