Palazzo delle Albere is a Renaissance villa-fortress in Trento

Trento

Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...

, northern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It was built during the 16th century by the Madruzzo family of prince-bishops of Trento. It takes its name (meaning "Trees' Palace" from the rows of poplars that once led to the castle; it is surrounded by a park, now smaller than once because it is crossed by the Brenner Railway

Brenner railway

The Brenner Railway is a major line connecting the Austrian and Italian railways from Innsbruck and Verona climbing the Wipptal , passing over the Brenner Pass and descending down the Eisack Valley to Bolzano and then down the Adige Valley from Bolzano to Rovereto and from there along the...

 and partly occupied by the Trento Monumental Cemetery. It has a square plan, with four square, 6 m-wide and 20 m tall corner towers, surrounded by a ditch.

In the Great Hall, in the second floor, were once frescoes celebrating emperor Charles V's deeds

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

. Still visible are instead the depictions of the 12 months. The third floor has also kept numerous Renaissance frescoes, depicting imaginary landscapes with ruins and castles, as well as the seven Liberal arts

Liberal arts

The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...

, the four Cardinal virtues

Cardinal virtues

In Christian traditionthere are 4 cardinal virtues:*Prudence - able to judge between actions with regard to appropriate actions at a given time*Justice - proper moderation between self-interest and the rights and needs of others...

 and the three Theological virtues

Theological virtues

Theological virtues - in theology and Christian philosophy, are the character qualities associated with salvation, resulting from the grace of God, which enlightens human mind.- In the Bible :The three theological virtues are:...

.

According the legend, it was connected by a secret tunnel to the city's cathedral

Trento Cathedral

Trento Cathedral is the most important religious edifice in Trento, northern Italy. It was built over a pre-existing 6th century temple devoted to Saint Vigilius , patron saint of the city....

, which was used by the prince-bishops move unseen between them.

Since 1987, it is the seat of the Trento and Rovereto Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MART).