The fort of Borgoforte, Zentralwerk, called Forte Centrale or Magnaguti, from the surname of Count Ercole, former owner of the land, is one of the four forts of the double bridgehead built by the Austrian Empire from 1859 to 1861. It rises about one kilometer from the Po , north of Borgoforte, on an area of 57 thousand square meters and is the only one that has remained intact, while the other two, Rocchetta and Bocca di Ganda, about 1300 meters from the Central Fort, upstream and downstream on the main bank of the Po , were used to cross the river to connect to the other fort, called "Noyeau", of Motteggiana, which was actually the bridgehead on the right bank of the Po. The Noyeau of Motteggiana will remain standing, albeit damaged, and will be demolished. the war 1915 - '18, after the Verona - Modena railway track had already found its seat in a part of the area ”. (Renzo Dall’Ara, Borgoforte - History - Stories - People, Karmak, Bruino, Turin, 2006, p. 57). The Rocchetta and Bocca di Ganda forts, on the other hand, were blown up by the Austrians, on the morning of July 18, 1866, after the bombing of the Italian Army's Artillery which began the previous day, in the last of three attacks led by General Cialdini in the third war of independence. Testimonies of the time say that the fort of Borgoforte remained intact because a valiant inhabitant cut the ignition fuse; in other documents the hypothesis is advanced that the Austrian officers did not want to ruin the houses, and the inhabitants, of the town where they were staying with their attendants, while the soldiers resided in the central barracks.
Located in the municipality of Borgio Virgilio, it dates back to the period 1859/1861 and is the only one of four currently existing. The municipality of Virgilio organizes guided tours in the following ways: The Fort and the Museum are open for visits every last Sunday of the month and respect the following times: WINTER TIMETABLE (from 1/4 to 31/5 and from 1/10 to 30/11), from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm SUMMER HOURS (from 1/6 to 30/9), From 15.00 to 18.00 WINTER CLOSURE from 01/12 to 31/03