Verrucole Castle, Italy

Verrucole Castle (Italian: Fortezza delle Verrucole) is a medieval fortress located in the Garfagnana region of Tuscany, Italy, in San Romano in Garfagnana comune, near the city of Lucca. It is 600 metres above sea level.

The fortress has recently undergone partial restoration. The territory of the fortress has been restored to give an understanding of the medieval way of life. The keep has undergone more considerable reconstruction with exhibits on different aspects of medieval life, including food, medicine, and warfare.

Verrucole Castle, Italy

The Fortress of Verrucole dates back to the 10th century. It was constructed by the Gherardinghi family on a previous human settlement. Because of the expansionist aims of Lucca northwards, many battles took place here such as a long siege during the winter 1170.

Verrucole Castle, Italy

It goes without saying that the word Verrucole, coming from the Italian verruca (wart), easily explains the choice of the rocky and unapproachable spot for the building of the fortification. A few ruins dating back to the Bronze Age and to a medieval hamlet have been found on the whinstone mountain where the fortress was raised. During the Middle Ages the territory of the “Curia delle Verrucole” was administered by the counts Gherardinghi, the local feudatory, then it was passed to the Republic of Lucca, the Malaspina family and since the sixteenth century to the Este family.The present features of the fortress probably go back to two periods governed by the Este dynasty, the age of Marquis Leonello (about 1450) and Alfonso II (about 1564). For more than four hundred years this fortress, which had a strategic location for the whole valley, was part of the duchy of Modena and the ancient province of Garfagnana.

Verrucole Castle, Italy

It is said that originally this complex had two towers, each one having its own castellan with guards protecting the two rocks, named the Round Rock and the Square Rock, placed at two opposite ends of the hill. The Round Rock with its still visible Ghibelline battlements, supports the present polygonal tower, which replaced a cylindrical tower, which is now visible after the recent excavations. The Square Rock is still evident in some traces in the vicinity of the north-eastern bulwark and it was defended by a semicircular tower and a north-oriented building. Coming from the old “Porta Piana”, which still retains its gatehouse and embrasure, it is now possible to visit the left battlement, the casemate and the bulwarks facing the majestic mountain “Pania di Corfino”. On the opposite side, next to the entrance of the casemate the scene continues with the ruins of the storehouse and the recently reconstructed quarters of the guard.

Verrucole Castle, Italy

Furthermore, rising on the hill of the Round Rock it is not possible to miss the old chapel and the partially restored tower. Any diligent observer will notice on the left hand side of the stone stairs the narrow “Porta del Soccorso”, a traditional emergency exit for the castles. From the north gate it is possible to enter into the “Orto del comandante”, containing a few service buildings, a rainwater tank and the gunpowder tower, struck by a thunderbolt and exploded in 1683.

Verrucole Castle, Italy

The Fortress fell into the hands of Lucca in 1296. When the maximum splendor of Castruccio Castracani declined, Spinetta Malaspina seized the control of the Fortress until 1345. Part of the Garfagnana region came under the Este family’s rule in 1429. The present structure of the Fortress dates probably back to two Estense’s periods: the period of the Marquis Leonello (around 1450) and Alfonso II (around 1564). Between 1522 and 1525, the poet Ludovico Ariosto was commissioner of Garfagnana. He reinforced the military districts, such as the Fortress of Verrucole. In the second half of the 16th century, the Duke Alfonso II d’Este called the Architect Marc Antonio Pasi to make the Fortress more suitable for the new war requirements. In those centuries, the fortress lost its military and strategic function but its structure was maintained in perfect working order by ducal engineers. In 1986, the Municipality of San Romano in Garfagnana bought the fortress and started the twenty-year restoration, which finished in 2012.

Project Archeopark Fortress of Verrucole
The Fortress of Verrucole soars at the heart of the northern part of Garfagnana because its aim was to control this land. The structure has medieval origins. It was strengthened during the Renaissance and has inhabited until the most recent centuries. The association MHL, made up of experts on historical research and educational divulgation, creates from 2013 a Medieval Archeopark to reproduce the living conditions of the human settlement from the end of 13th century (based on the Statuto of 1271 of the Verrucole Gherardenga, as the place was called in that moment). Its aim is to retrieve the ancient everyday life thanks to the interactivity of the guided tours; so the Fortress has became something new: an interesting attraction from the architectural and historical point of view together with guides who re-enact the aspects of past life conditions. The fortress revives thanks to the organisation of civil and military environments and the recovery of the vegetable garden such as the herb garden “Il Giardino dei Semplici” which was useful for the medieval herbal medicine. Important part of the museum activity are the workshops/educational activities (for adults and kids) to involve them in a practical experience of the 13th century life about different themes civil (weaving, cooking, writing & miniature, medicine, ancient building techniques) and military (war strategies, archery, military training games). Keywords: to captivate the attention, to convey a documented knowledge without boring or numbing visitors with dates or pompous words.

Verrucole Castle, Italy