Castelvecchio, Verona

This red-brick castle beside the Adige was built in the 14th century by the ruling Scaliger lords as a fortified residence, its towers guarding a fortified bridge across the river. In the mid-20th century the architect Carlo Scarpa reworked the interior into a celebrated museum, his spare modern interventions framing medieval sculpture, painting and armour in a widely studied example of exhibition design. Visitors move through galleries, courtyards and along the ramparts to the crenellated bridge.