Camporgiano is located on the right bank of the Serchio River, in a verdant valley that divides the mountain ranges of the Apuan Alps and the Apennines. Of Roman origin, the town was contested by numerous families and lordships since the Middle Ages; in 1446 it became part of the dominions of the Este family, until the Unification of Italy. The undisputed “star” of Camporgiano is the Rocca Estense, built on a rocky spur, and whose bulk dominates the main square of the town. At the top of the Rocca there is a sort of hanging garden in which some conifers stand out, giving the fortress an unmistakable character, dialoguing from afar with the fir trees that cover the heights of the surrounding reliefs. The fortress was built for defensive purposes in the 15th century and is an emblematic example of Este military architecture of the 15th century, with its trapezoidal wall and truncated conical corner towers protruding from the plan profile. Once the medieval center of the city, today the fortress does not retain much of its original structure due to the earthquake that struck the entire area in 1920. At the foot of the fortress you can also admire a stone fountain traditionally called the pilon.
The main tower of the fortress houses the Civic Collection of Renaissance Ceramics, which brings together ceramics from a period ranging from the early fifteenth century to the second half of the seventeenth century, mostly found in the wells of the fortification during restoration work.