Brina Castle, Sarzana, Italy

The castle of Brina is located on the left slope of a hill in the lower Val di Magra, along the ridge between Falcinello and Ponzano Superiore, within the district of Sarzana and on the border with Santo Stefano di Magra. The original part of the castle could date back to the 11th century. It was first mentioned in a sales contract on May 25, 1055. The houses, the lands and the castle’s walls were mentioned in a sales document on June 14, 1078, in which Pellegrino de Bruciore sold all his belongings and the lands outside the walls of the defensive fortification of Brina to the bishop of Luni.

During the 14th century, the castle was torn down, not by war, but as a result of a systematic destruction. This is confirmed by the ruins of the buildings, which show signs of having been destroyed using picks. The tower was torn down through the mining technique, that is to say by substituting a line of rocks at the base of the building with wood and setting it on fire.

The castle is in ruins but it has been made safe and strengthened after a recent restoration.

References:

museoleduefortezze.it

User Reviews

Cristina Bertonati (21 months ago)
We went with an ebike, a very beautiful, somewhat demanding path. The very interesting archaeological site located on the mountain route of the Via Francigena in the midst of nature ... here are the ruins of the Castello della Brina. From this hill you can see Sarzana, the coast of Luni, the village of Ponzano and the village of Falcinello.

Laur G (2 years ago)
Really very beautiful, easily accessible via a well-indicated path. Beautiful landscape and very interesting site

Giuliana Lomazzi (2 years ago)
In reality I cannot say anything about the castle itself but only point out that the path to get there is very similar to a stream. Especially downhill it is at risk of falls because it is steep and very slippery. So I limited myself to just walking through it for a while and going back

Dante Consonni (3 years ago)
The Brina castle existed since the 11th century, resting on the Nuda or Torraccio hill. Now they are only ruins, which to get there you need to go at least 1.5 km from the bridge over the Calcandola at La Brina (Sarzana), with a 140 m climb. Only if you want to take a short walk, paying attention only to the last stretch that the path is bumpy, is it worth going, unless you are an archeology enthusiast.

Federico Bellegoni (3 years ago)
Nice place with nice view. Beautiful view over the valley. You get there with a simple and very pleasant walk even with small children.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Michel Couprie

Historic Site of the week

Briançon Fortress

The historical centre of Briançon is a strongly fortified town, built by Vauban to defend the region from Austrians in the 17th century. Its streets are very steep and narrow, though picturesque. Briançon lies at the foot of the descent from the Col de Montgenèvre, giving access to Turin, so a great number of other fortifications have been constructed on the surrounding heights, especially towards the east.

The Savoyards made two raids into French territory in 1691 and 1692. As a result, Vauban was dispatched to inspect the frontier defences, which had been ill-equiped to deal with the attack from Savoy. He returned to the area in 1700 to check on the progress that had been made since his first visit. When Vauban visited Briançon, work on the defences had already started under a local engineer, Monsieur d"Angrogne in 1692.

Brina Castle

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Briançon Fortress