Verrucole Fortress (Fortezza delle Verrucole)

The fortress of Verrucole, in the upper Serchio valley, is one of the most representative and best-preserved fortified buildings in the Garfagnana area. Built atop a mountainous cliff, 650 metres above sea level, it owes its name to the rugged terrain of the site (from the Latin verruca = high ground), chosen for its impregnability. The fortress was an important Este military garrison with a high strategic value, subjected to several sieges that required repeated technological updates to the war machine.

The building structures now correspond largely to those that were built in the second half of the 16th century to a design by the Carpi architect Marcantonio Pasi, who was responsible for the reorganisation of the Este defensive outposts in Garfagnana at the time of the fiercest clashes between the Duke of Ferrara, the Florentines and the people of Lucca. The fortified complex that can be admired and visited today is the result of a complex building restoration project carried out between 1994 and 2000 and which has allowed a unique monument of its kind to be rescued from decay.