Castello di Sarzano
"It 'is one of the most elegant and best-preserved fortresses in the Apennines of Emilia [...] it appears wonderfully picturesque, nor do the old possessions of Countess Matilda perhaps have a more artistic castle', as the archaeologist and art historian Corrado Ricci expressed it in 1885 when visiting Sarzano Castle.
Sarzano is the historical toponym of an ancient marquisate in the Apennines of Emilia, formerly a fief of Matilda of Canossa, along the road from Reggio Emilia to La Spezia.
It is the most important monumental property in the Casina area, as well as its main historical reference point.
A unique location that hosts cultural events, festivals, live music, exhibitions, conventions, as well as private initiatives, within an unexpected landscape with an ancient atmosphere and rich traditions.
A curiosity that links the history of the castle to the world of cinema.
Perhaps you do not know that the British actor Christopher Lee, Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, the famous Dracula of well-known international films, was the 11th Marquis of Sarzano. Sarzano was in fact the homeland of his ancestors, the Carandini family.
The Carandinis undertook a major restoration of the castle in Sarzano, which was completed in 1698, as recalled by a plaque above the lintel of the gateway to the fortress (now stolen and reconstructed on the basis of photographic evidence).
Until 1796 (the year of the suppression of the fiefs) the masters of Sarzano were the Carandinis. With the Restoration, the castle returned to the Estensi, who donated it to the Church in 1839. In 1990, the municipality of Casina bought the castle and the village that had in the meantime developed at its foot.
In 2020, Sarzano Castle launched a tourism alliance with the Castles of the Duchy.
