The original structure of this castle situated in the valley of the river Enza dates back to the XIIth century. The noble family of the Sanvitale rules it incontestably to 1313, when the guelph armies conquers and almost destroys it. After that, between the XVth and the XVIth century, it sees an interminable series of conflicts: the pope, the emperor and powerful families like the Visconti and the Este fight for its possession with histories of conspiration and betrayals.
Nevertheless the fortress grows again every time out of its ruins so that today we can enjoy today its extremly suggestive and terrible beauty charged with its human and historical vicissitudes.