Castello Sarzanello

Situated on the outskirts of Sarzana, a hundred kilometers southeast of Genova and close to the bay of poets, the Castello Sarzanello or the Fortezza di Sarzanello is easily accessible through a cobblestone road with a parking next to it. Though we arrived after closing time, it was possible to stroll around the castle and enjoy the view on the Fortezza as well as on its surroundings. It fell like a romantic park as did others probably experience the place; there were plenty of young couples who seemed to use the castle, or its parking lot, to stroll around hand in hand, kiss a little bit while sitting on its walls or make love in the the car, as we noticed. 

A settlement on this hill is first mentioned in 963 AD, when the possession of Castrum Sarzanae by Adalbert, Bishop of Luni, is recognized by Emperor Otto I of Saxony. After the victory over the Genovese in the "War of Serrazana" between 1487 and 1492, the fortress was given its present shape by order of Lorenzo the Magnificent. In 1496 however, Sarzana came under the control of the Republic of Genova again. The Florentine project was completed in the sixteenth century with the construction of the walls that, from the fortress, enclosed the entire city Sarzana. In the nineteenth century, with the annexation of the Republic to the Kingdom of Savoy and with the radical changes in defensive strategies, the fortress was first used as a police barracks and later as a prison until the 1970s. 

The Fortezza was just a 25 minutes drive from our campsite in Tellaro so we could take some more time for a trip from the coast and also visited another nearby castle: Fosdinovo.

Below: view on Castello Sarzanello and its surroundings. Photo: Casper Molenaar.