Fortress of Verrucole

The fortress of Verrucole, beautiful and imposing, is somewhat stretched along the north-east to south-west axis, on a hill above the village of San Romano Garfagnana in front of the Orecchiella Natural Park. During a visit of the fortress we can see the remains of a polygonal tower surrounded by walls, rests of several other structures, a tunnel leading to the underground casemate, the massive circle of walls and two ramparts, one round, the other pointed. The lowest parts of the curtain, taking in account also the morphology of the ground, have two semicircular towers and two gates, the one on the east now stopped. In the Record Office of Modena we can see beautiful drawings of the fortress and its parts together with a plan drawn by the architect M.A. Pasi for the Dukes of Este and one by Captain Costa with the date 1796.
The Municipality of San Romano bought the fortress from "Bresciani & Co." in 1986 for 15 mill. ITL.. The surviving structures are in good condition thanks to works of consolidation promoted by the Municipality at the beginning of 1990. Archaeological excavations are now under way with the aim of gathering further information about the single buildings.
In 1998 architect Gianclaudio Papasogli Tacca commissioned a project for the reuse of the rocca. The project is now being examined by the Monuments and Fine Arts Office. hours: The fortress is public property and open to visitors road: From Castelnuovo Garfagnana follow the signposts for San Romano in Garfagnana. Once there, drive through the village and take the road on your right up towards Verrucole. Park your car on the square in front of the church and continue on foot.