The mighty fortress lies on a hill at an altitude of 1968 ft, keeping guard over the upper Garfagnana.
Neglected for several years, now (thanks to the still incomplete restoration of the town of San Romano in Garfagnana, owner since 1986) its mighty embattled walls can be noted from the distance.
We talk about an incomplete restoration because the donjon was not accessible at the moment of our visit.

It’s worth a little effort to visit it: from its walls you can enjoy a splendid bird’s eye view over the Alpi Apuane, the Apennines and the valley bottom.
As an ‘800 engineer wrote “the most beautiful horizon of the Garfagnana”.

The fortress dates back to the feudal period, and belonged to the Gherardinghi family. It was ceded to the Lucca Republic in 1285.
At the beginning it was composed by two distinct parts. The present aspect is due to a 1400 renovation when the two Este ramparts were built for military purposes.

It is absolutely worth a visit because, maybe it is not the most beautiful of the medieval Tuscany fortresses it is certainly the most imposing.

A little remark:
the town of San Romano should replace the rusty signposting and, above all, increase their visibility so that the tourist should not be forced to drive up and down the narrow SS445 to take the right one to the Verrucole village.

For more info:
www.fortezzaverrucolearcheopark.it/en
wikipedia: fortezza delle Verrucole