Temporarily Closed
Rocca Sforzesca
Situated to defend the city, the Rocca Sforzesca is an ideal hinge between Imola's hilly landscape and the historic city and is Imola's identifying monument. As one
arrives, one glimpses, in the perimeter in front of the drawbridge, the trace of a ravelin guarding the entrance. The high curtain walls have four circular towers at the corners and, past the drawbridge, one enters the first courtyard and the adjoining Courtyard of Arms, where military exercises once took place.
In the centre, linking the two courtyards is the tall donjon tower. The tour starts in the dungeon, where cannons and guns are stored, and ends in the dungeon, where graffiti can still be seen on the walls of those who were held prisoners there from the 15th century until the 1950s.
On the mezzanine level, it is possible to see the inside of the embrasures and finally arrive at the weapons room, with the two large complete suits of armour and part of the collection of firearms. In the rooms where the Captain of the Fortress had his residence, there are showcases with a large number of white and firearms, covering the historical period from the 16th to the 19th century. Looking out from the battlements, it is possible to see the outline of the Imola hills and an inner courtyard, the so-called Paradise Courtyard, where the elegant arches of the Renaissance palace commissioned by Caterina Sforza can be seen. Climbing to the keep, the surprise is a panoramic view of the Imola hills and the historic city, punctuated by the profile of the cathedral and church bell towers.
In such an ancient place there is also room for technology thanks to an augmented reality tour, where Leonardo da Vinci, who was in Imola in 1502 as a military engineer in the retinue of Cesare Borgia, narrates the events of the fortress in the very place where they took place.
