Camporgiano, Italy: travel guide to the Este fortress in the Garfagnana

Camporgiano is a small town in the province of Lucca, in Tuscany, set at around 475 metres on the right bank of the river Serchio in the Garfagnana, the green valley that runs between the Apuan Alps and the Apennines. Home to about 2,400 people, it is a peaceful mountain community with a long and contested history.

For travellers searching for Camporgiano, the Este fortress, the Garfagnana or the Serchio valley, it offers history and beautiful mountain scenery.

History and the fortress

Of Roman origin, Camporgiano was long fought over by the lords of the region, passing under the control of Lucca in the days of Castruccio Castracani before its people chose, in 1446, to place themselves under the Este marquises of Ferrara, becoming part of the Garfagnana Estense until Italian unification. The town's chief monument is its fortress, the Rocca, first built around 1300 and remodelled in the following century, which served as the seat of the Este governors. With its irregular square plan, two stout cylindrical towers facing the main square and steeply scarped walls, it can be visited by guided tour.

Around the town

Set amid woods, rivers and mountains, Camporgiano is a fine base for the outdoors, with a noted public forest nursery nearby and the peaks of the Apuan Alps and the lakes of the Garfagnana within easy reach.

Practical information

Camporgiano lies about 40 kilometres north-west of Lucca and some 90 kilometres north-west of Florence, reached by road up the Serchio valley near the town of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana.