Rocca di Soncino

The "Rocca" (fortress) was built in the 15th century (between 1473 and 1475) for Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza. The feasible plan of the "Rocca" was by the military architect from Cremona, Bartolomeo Gadio while construction was carried out by the Soncino workers all the way to the final layout of the fortress including 9 keeps along a one and a half km long wall. The Sforza family owned the property until 1499 when it became a Venetian property; in 1522 it was attacked by Lautrec, a Marshal of France, who was however defeated here. After having served as a refuge for Francesco Sforza, it went to the French and then to the Spanish, losing all of its original function, until the time that the Stampa family from Milan, having received the marquisate of Soncino from Charles the Fifth became the feudal lords and reconstructed the fortress to become its residence. It was attacked for the last time in 1705 by Eugene of Savoy and in 1876 its last owner, the Marquis M. Cesare Sforza, donated it to the City, which entrusted its restoration to the architect Luca Beltrami.
The "Rocca" is reached by entering into the western gate of the walls after having passed over the moat that still surrounds the fortress. It is completely built in brick and made up of 2 quadrilateral enclosures separated by a moat and 4 corner towers which connect the solid embattled walls. The particular and complex architectural conception of the "Rocca" make it one of the most interesting buildings in Lombardy.