Rocca Sforzesca - Ravenna Intorno

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Ravenna Intorno
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Rocca Sforzesca - Bagnara di Romagna

exterior of the fortress of Bagnara
Via IV novembre 3 Bagnara di Romagna
Opening hours: info +39 0545 905540
Phone: +39 0545 905540

The earliest records of Bagnara Castle date from 1126 but it underwent numerous alterations in the following centuries, until it was reconstructed in the 15th century by the Riario and Sforza families, the lords at that time, on the ruins of the mediaeval castle which Barnabò Visconti had built in 1354.

The keep dates from the second half of the fifteenth century and is considered to be one of the best defensive works of art of the 15th century in Italy; in the seventeenth century the drawbridge was done away with, the entrance enlarged and the existing spaces between the crenellations in the towers walled up and roofed over. The Castle was converted at that time from military to civilian use and became the residence of the bishop’s commissary on the upper floor, while the ground floor was used for storage and utility rooms. In certain periods, the Castle was also used as a prison, as can be seen by looking at some of the graffiti in a cell in the upper casemate in the keep.