Info point 6: The bridge - drawbridge, gargoyle

Bridge - the last hope

We are located at one of the key points of the castle defense. Today it may not look like it, but this position was designed as the fort defenders’ last hope in case the invaders managed to get inside the castle. The bridge in front of you used to be a drawbridge. In the event of danger, the defenders could retreat to the palace and prevent access to the entrance by raising the bridge. Originally there were no doors on the ground floor, and the lower floors were accessed from a guard path on the opposite side of the edifice, where the existence of a drawbridge should also be assumed. Thus, the fort palace, protected by its massive, over two meters thick, walls on the ground floor, turned into a fort of its own that could withstand the siege for quite some time. Interestingly, there was a cistern on the ground floor of the palace, which was another important requirement for longer-term resistance during the attack.

Gargoyle

Before entering the palace, look up at one of the most interesting decorative details of the fort. The stone-carved male bearded head is in fact a gargoyle connected to the stone gutters that were added during the palace restoration after the great fire of 1586. Due to its decorativeness, this gargoyle has become a symbol of the Morosini-Grimani castle and the most frequently used motif for its promotion.