Originally known as San Martino in Aquaro, probably due to its proximity to the Adigetto and a bridge over the canal or Adige River, it only assumed its current name of Castelvecchio after the construction of the castles of San Pietro and San Felice.

Today Castelvecchio is Verona's main civic museum, divided into twenty-nine exhibition rooms housing an extraordinary collection of Italian and foreign works of art. The museum itinerary embraces a broad chronological span, from mediaeval sculpture to Renaissance painting and 18th century modern art. Among the rooms, visitors can also admire ancient weapons, archaeological finds, miniatures, ceramics, goldsmithery and the city's ancient bells.

What makes this place even more fascinating is the refined restoration carried out at the end of the 1950s, the result of the collaboration between Licisco Magagnato, then director of the museum, and architect Carlo Scarpa. The project, now considered one of the museographic masterpieces of the 20th century, transformed Castelvecchio into an emblematic example of a museum as a total work of art, where architecture and collections dialogue in perfect balance.