The exact date of its foundation is unknown but it existed at least after the year 1000 AD. The area around Arco was inhabited already before the Middle Ages, the castle was said to have been built by the citizens and only later becoming the property of the local nobles. (1495) The
counts of Arco (from Latin
arcus, 'bow'), probably of
Italian origin (a presumed kinship with the
Bavarian counts of
Bogen could not be established), were first mentioned in 1124 deed; they temporarily served as liensmen of the
Trent prince-bishops. Though they were raised to comital (
Grafen) status by the
Hohenstaufen emperor
Frederick II in 1221, they had to acknowledge the overlordship of the
Meinhardiner princely counts of
Tyrol in 1272. The Counts of Arco were expelled by the Prince-Bishops of Trent in 1349, whereafter the castle fell to the
Veronese noble house of
Scaliger. Nevertheless, they regained the castle in a local uprising, and in 1413 further strengthened their position by obtaining the status of
Imperial immediacy from the hands of Emperor
Sigismund in 1413. However, in the long run, they could not prevail against the mighty
House of Habsburg, rulers of Tyrol since 1363. Arco Castle was captured in 1579, and the counts had to submit to the Habsburgs in 1614. Their estates were officially seized by Emperor
Leopold I in 1680. The castle was later abandoned after a siege by
French troops under General Duke
Louis Joseph of Vendôme in the course of the
War of the Spanish Succession in 1703. A careful restoration began 1986 and following others in more recent years restorations have found a number of frescoes depicting knights and court ladies of medieval times. ==References==