Soave, Veneto later sold the castle to the Gritti noble family. In 1797-1805 the city was under French rule. In 1809 there were small fights between French and Austrian troops in the vicinity. Later Soave was included in the kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, and in 1866 became part of Italy. The Castle of Soave is a typical medieval military edifice, commanding the neighbourhood of the city from the Tenda Hill. It comprises a "mastio" (donjon) and three lines of walls forming three courts of different size. The outer line, with a gate and a draw bridge, is the most recent, built by the
Wine humour Anecdotes and jokes may be told about wine. An old chestnut which has appeared in many contexts concerns a vineyard which sent its wine to a lab for analysis. The report which was returned warned that "Your horse has diabetes!". The artist and wine enthusiast Ronald Searle has produced a book of cartoons and humour about wine called "Something in the cellar". He also produced a collection of cartoons which satirised the art of wine-tasting — "The Illustrated Winespeak". Wine humour Wine humour is humour associated with wine. As well as ordinary anecdotes, cartoons and jokes, the whimsical labels and