Top of the World
The Fortress or Rocca della Verruca, on the homonymous peak (537 meters) of the Monti Pisani, dominates the whole plain of Pisa and the course of the Arno river. The sources testify its existence already before the year one thousand. The name derives from the fact that it is located on the homonymous mountain, whose shape recalls a wart. Although in poor condition, has maintained a certain charm in addition to the pentagonal plan. Inside there was an epigraph with the first trace of Italian rowing that reads "Twelve June MCIII", now preserved in Pisa in the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo.
The Rocca della Verruca was an important place in the defensive system of the Pisan Republic, so much so that it was called "the eye of the Pisans" because from up there it was possible to control a large part of the territory. If a village was attacked, it signaled the request for help by waving flags, lighting fires and ringing bells. These signals were reproduced until they were seen by the Verruca that reproduced them putting Pisa in alarm.
