Castello di Nozzano - Tuscany

Winding a rocky relief to the right of the course of the river serchio still stands the fortified village of Nozzano, with its crenellated keep and its towers. The castle was one of the most equipped and famous outposts built to defend the territory of Lucca along the southwestern border with the territory of Pisa. On the other side of the river, a few hundred meters as the crow flies, stands the associated Pisan fortress: the Rocca di Ripafratta with its watchtowers.

The fortress, formed by an elliptical wall circuit to defend the small town, equipped with towers at the front facing the Pisan 'enemy' and with a single access door on the side to Lucca with the center being a semi-triangular structure with high crenellated walls and two towers, a higher square and a spur like that of the city walls, with the functions of keep, it was built several times in the 1200s.

After the battle of Monteaperti (1260), it became famous for hosting the Guelphs who were expelled from several Tuscan towns. Repeatedly attacked and destroyed by Pisa's troops and always rebuilt, the last time in 1395 with the addition of a semi-bastion to defend the door. The fortress was used to control the ships going up the Serchio to Lucca until the late 1500s, then its military and strategic importance ceased and Nozzano was one of the centers to house one of the first printing houses in Italy. Today the whole is in good condition, it can be visited by reservation.

Willem Vandenameele