Verrucole Castle
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A distant view
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The 'Rocca Tonda' viewed from the northern vertex.
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The Castle rises over the homonymous suburb in the commune of San Romano in
Garfagnana. From Florence e can follow the motorway A11 until the exit 'Lucca'
, then the SS12 called 'of the Abetone and the Brennero' and finally the SS435
of the Garfagnana until Castelnuovo. Here we find the indications for San Romano
and for Verrucole.
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The still intact battlements of the northern curtain.
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The suburb of Verrucole rise at the center of the high Garfagnana Valley and
its castle, also known as Fortress, is considered the most important medieval
testimony of this area. Traces of ancient settlements on the site are constituted
by numerous Neolithic era recoveries, by a necropolis of the ancient people
called 'Liguri' (near San Romano) and by the Roman Via Clodia (Clodia Road),
but the first written notices goes back to the Middle Ages. The territory was
divided and contended between two feudal lordships: the counts of Bacciano,
of whose castle does not exist more traces, and of the most powerful Gherardinghi,
that had their center in the castle of the Verrucole until the year 1285.
With the decline of the feudal realty the area of San Romano become a free
commune, but soon the expansion of the near city of Lucca in the Garfagnana
with the intention to control the passes and the roads towards the north of
the high Serchio valley led to the submission of Verrucole castle. For the successive
centuries Verrucole did not know peace: contended between Florentine, the marquises
Malaspina and the Dukes of Este were often center of skirmish and battles. The
last was in the 1520 when, under the Estense control, was besieged by the Florentine
army. Finally, from the second half of the 16th century, the Dukes consolidated
their dominion on the valley and the castle remained under their control until
the unity of Italy.
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The north side, were the 'Rocca Quadra' rose.
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All the history of the high Garfagnana passed between the walls, today in ruin,
of Verrucole. From its position on a relief approximately 600 meters high is
possible to dominate the Alps Apuane, the Apennines and great part of the bottom
of the valley. Its origin is clear in its medieval forms: it was originally
formed by two nucleus at the extremities of the hill :the 'Rocca Tonda' (Round
Rocca) to the most elevated southern vertex and the 'Rocca Quadra' (Square Rocca)
to north. The Round Rocca it's also original ancient nucleus probably of the
11th century, constituted from a massive keep with octagonal shape (it remembers
the one of the not far Castle of Aghinolfo) approached with a long stair in
stone, inside there were the rooms of the gentleman on two plans. The rests
of the kitchens and other locals can be still noticed. At the feet of the stair
rose the castle's chapel of which we can still admire two columns with carved
capitals. The keep its endowed at south of a walled enclosure surrounding the
inner courtyard. Others two embattled curtains leave from here towards north
and, perfectly following the margins of the crag, reaches the opposite extremity
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A loop hole in the southern curtain.
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Here rose the 'Rocca Quadra', the strictly military nucleus of the castle,
today totally disappeared replaced by two bastions erected by the Estensi that
maintained here a Constable with a small garrison with light artillery until
the second half of the 1600. In this part of the castle there're also some galleries,
used also as deposits for gun powder. The two nucleus are joined together by
two walled embattled curtains, endowed at the center with two towers with semicircle
form, loop holes and of watch walk. The area enclosed between the two 'Rocche'
constitutes the inner ward, where also other buildings, now disappeared, found
place. In the western curtain is opened the only gate of access at the complex,
gifted with a breteche.
Abandoned for years and reduced in ruins invaded by the vegetation, so much
degraded to fear a definitive collapse of the structures, the castle of Verrucole
is today opened to the public after a six years careful restoration that have
brought it back to its ancient scenographic beauty. In the distance its walls,
endowed of nearly perfectly intact battlements, seems to order to pay homage
at its power. Walking through the few hundreds meters that separate the castle
from the village, where it is necessary to leave the car, we can,t imagine what
expect us on the top of the hill: breathless sight on all the surrounding area,
the Apuane Alps, the Apennines and the Gagafgnana. Personally I think Verrucole
is one of the most beautiful medieval castle in Tuscany and a perfectly example
of successful conservative restoration. I've not fear to paragon it with some
of the famous Cathar castles of southern France, for example Peyrepertuse.
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