The Rocca of Brisighella, placed to defend the town and the valley on one of the three hills overlooking the village, was built in 1310 by Francesco Manfredi, Lord of Faenza, on the remains of a previous castle destroyed by a Ghibelline faction. The Manfredi ruled over Brisighella for the entire course of the 14th and 15th centuries with the exception of a period of eight years (1368-76) in which, conquered by Cardinal Albornoz, it passed under the State of the Church. In 1394 Galeazzo Manfredi modernized the defensive structures, which were later reinforced by Astorgio II between 1457 and 1466. In 1494 the Rocca was subjected to the siege of the Duke of Urbino, who had to give up due to the strenuous resistance led by Dionisio di Naldo from Brisighella. In 1500 it was conquered by Cesare Borgia (Valentino) and upon his fall, in 1503, it passed into the hands of the Venetians. At the time the fortress only had the smaller tower which, under the dominion of Venice, was further enlarged and equipped with the imposing circular tower. In 1509 it was reconquered by the papal troops. In 1560 Pope Pius IV granted Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, the government of the valley which, due to the onset of conflicts, lasted only five years. Apart from the brief Napoleonic period, the Fortress remained under the control of the Church until 1860, the year of its annexation to the Kingdom of Italy.

You enter the Rocca area via the steps of the Porta delle Gabelle. The walkway at the foot of the high walls reaches the old external courtyard. The main entrance leads to both the internal armory and the smaller and older Manfredi tower. The entrance to the Manfredian tower constitutes the beginning of the internal walkway of the castle. A narrow spiral staircase connects a series of three habitable rooms superimposed on the vertical axis of the tower. The fourth and last level of the tower is characterized by a large circular room with a central load-bearing pylon and a wooden and brick roof. The tower is connected to the Venetian “maschio” by one of the two drawbridges which allowed entrenchment in the event of a siege. The Venetian tower, equipped with a cistern in its underground part, is also equipped with a spiral staircase that connects three overlapping rooms formerly inhabited by the castellan. The fourth level, the highest, is characterized by the gallery that runs around the entire circumference from which you can enjoy a splendid panorama of the valley. The roof, built on two levels, covers a blind compartment with an ogival dome (probably used for powder storage). The wooden roof of the perimeter gallery was built towards the end of the 16th century. All parts of the fortress are connected to each other by the patrol walkway at the top of the bastions, which allows you to reach all the ends of the fortification at high altitude, as well as the connection between the towers. From the internal armory courtyard you can access the gallery underneath the West bastion (bomber), from which you reach the caponiera, located below the Gabelle bridge, which allowed lateral low fire on the besiegers.