The Fortress, Solferino

Set in a verdant park, at the highest point of Solferino (206 metres a.sl.), is a massive square tower known during the Renaissance as the “Spy of Italy” because of its strategic position facing the border of Austrian-held Veneto.

Erected in 1022, it is 23 metres tall. The ground floor contains busts of the French generals Auger and Dieu, killed in the battle. The display cases in the middle and at the sides contain memorabilia and weapons, together with documents relating to the history of the fortress and the mint installed in Solferino by the Gonzagas.

The tower was turned into a museum in 1870 by the Società Solferino e San Martino, which is now responsible for it and restructured it for the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy in 2011.

A handy wooden ramp, a true masterpiece of carpentry, leads to the Sala dei Sovrani (portraits of Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II), and then to the rooftop terrace where panels held identify (visibility permitting) the steeples and towers of towns many kilometres away. On very clear days, the view extends to the first mountains of the Alps and Apennines and sweeps across the Po Valley.