Dating back to the 11th century, it owes its name to the fact that it hosted the poet Ludovico Ariosto from 1552 to 1525, who held the position of governor of the Este province of Garfagnana during this period.
Architecturally it presents itself with the characteristic shape of medieval buildings: small towers at the corners and a square in the center which also served as a prison.
During the thirteenth century the structure of the fortress was modified and in particular during the period of Lucca’s domination it underwent numerous changes, among which we remember the enlargement of the entire urban walls, operated by Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli, and the construction of the imposing tower located in the center of the Rocca, enhanced by the civic clock, thanks to Paolo Guinigi.
In 1675 the terrace was built overlooking the square at the monumental arch leading to the city center.
Following the damage caused during the Second World War, the fortress was restored and modified in the structure. It is currently the site of cultural events and houses the Archaeological Museum, where you can find evidence of the prehistoric, Ligurian-Apuan and Etruscan periods in Garfagnana.

The restaurant is a Slow Food presidium and stands in the basements of the cathedral above. The proposed menus offer a summary of the products of the area: spelled, bread, pasta, cheeses, hams, sausages and a wide range of fruit jams and drinks.

It was built by the will of Alfonso II d’Este between 1579 and 1586, on a project by Marc’Antonio Pasi, to defend Castelnuovo Garfagnana and the Este territory from the Republic of Lucca. It was the Garfagnini themselves who contributed, with the huge sum of 30,000 scudi, to the realization.

The complex – with a wall of 1150 meters, 7 bulwarks and two doors – had houses inside: some of the sixteenth-century specimens remain the captain’s house, the accommodation of the troops, the stone well and the casemate bastion. The Este coat of arms still stands on the main door.

According to a popular legend, the Fortress would be connected through an underground gallery to the Rocca Ariostesca di Castelnuovo, a secret passage that, in the event of a siege of the village, would have allowed citizens to take refuge within the walls.

After hosting prisons in the 16th century, in the 1900s it became the summer residence of the Italian – Scottish Bechelli family, who transformed one of the buildings into a modern Liberty villa.

In 1580 Alfonso II, Duke of Este, from the Mont’Alfonso Fortress descends to visit the ancient baths and orders some maintenance works which are then repeated about 100 years later by the population of Castelnuovo and in 1707 a visit by the Garfagnan naturalist Antonio Vallisneri enhances the spa and the properties of the water.
In the second post-war period, work began on the large drainage tunnel at the Enel plant in Torrite and on this occasion, thermal water was traced, but was abandoned inside the tunnel itself.
In the 1980s, the administration decided to carry out in-depth water analyzes and in 1982 a hydrogeological research indicated the bathroom area as an area where it is possible to find water for both the drinking water network and the thermal waters.

Finally, in the early 2000s, the archaeologist Paolo Notini found the side walls of a large walled terracotta pot, a material widely used by the ancient Romans, inside the cave of the baths. The same archaeologist pointed out that this discovery cannot be considered proof that it was the Romans who built the Torrite baths: in several countries, cocciopesto was continued and continues to be used in plumbing works of various kinds. However, it seems certain that the thermal waters of Bagni di Lucca and Equi Terme, countries located not far from ours, were already known and used at the time of republican Rome “.
He claims:
“Some scholars see thermalism as a stimulus for viability. Already the Romans, in tracing their ways, kept in mind the possibility of using thermal springs. And of course resting the tired limbs in a tub of warm water could represent an extraordinary relief for a traveler of antiquity! According to them, one can therefore think that the existence of thermal waters in various places in the Serchio valley (Bagni di Lucca, Gallicano, Pieve Fosciana and Torrite) facilitated the trafficking of merchants and pilgrims along the roads that led from Lombardy to Lucca ” .

(text taken from interviews with Andrea Giannasi)