North Gate: Reception Centre and exhibition areas
Originally called Captain Rinaldo's Door, the North Door was built in 1581 as the main entrance to the fortress. It was used as gatehouse and the patrol soldiers were quartered in the spacious rooms on the first floor.
Today the ground floor holds the tourist reception area and a projection room, while the first floor hosts the Educational Centre for the Documentation of the Fortifications of Garfagnana, which retraces the historical military events of this area which bordered with several States and for this reason was in need of defence. Here, in addition to the panels showing texts and photographs and the reproductions of ancient weapons, including a sixteenth-century cannon, short videos help visitors experience what it was like to take part in a 16th century battle.
There is also a small exhibition area dedicated to the traditional foods produced in Garfagnana.
