Castle Castelvecchio in Verona

You're standing at Castelvecchio, the Old Castle of Verona. Take a good look at those walls. Red brick, hardly any decoration, everything solid and compact. This castle was built to defend and to intimidate, not to look pretty. See the battlements along the top? They're shaped like the letter M, a classic Gothic touch of the time. They run along the castle walls and right across the bridge.