Estense Fortress of Camporgiano (Rocca Estense di Camporgiano)

The fortress of Camporgiano is the most eloquent and best-preserved, albeit unfinished, example of 15th-century Este fortification in Garfagnana. Its compact and mighty bulk merges with the cliff on which it stands, dominating the upper Serchio valley on the right bank at 470 metres above sea level, opposite the Verrucole fortress, together with which it once performed the function of blocking access to the Apennine passes and the Po valley. The fortress, recently restored and partially accessible, has an approximately trapezoidal plan, with stone curtain walls, narrow walkways supported by jutting structures, two circular towers in a truncated conical shape with a very high, steep scarp on the northwestern side. On the inside, an earthen esplanade following the natural elevation was levelled and adapted for military functions. On the esplanade, the remains of pre-existing, partly medieval wall stratifications can be identified (including the base of the bell tower of the church of San Sisto and part of the walls of the earlier fortress, or “rocchetta”, brought to light during recent archaeological excavations). On the easternmost side is a residential building, the result of the 20th-century extension of an earlier residence of the local ruling elites placed on the site of the older keep and damaged during the devastating earthquake of 1920, which caused the collapse of the other buildings on the esplanade. The fortress is accessed through a single entrance on the north-western side, with a small guardhouse. In the thickness of the walls of the keep facing the square is the Civic Collection of Renaissance Ceramics, housed in vaulted rooms formerly used as garrison shelters and now carefully restored.