Italy · Partial ruin
Canossa Castle
Canossa Castle is a medieval hilltop fortress in Canossa, province of Reggio Emilia, northern Italy, best known as the site of the 1077 reconciliation between Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII. The stronghold was founded in the 10th century and in the Middle Ages was protected by multiple concentric defensive walls and housed a lord's residence, a Benedictine convent and the church of Sant'Apollonio. Today only fragmentary remains survive on the rocky summit.
First raised
950
Its prime
1077
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1077
The shape it held in its prime.
Perched on a steep rocky crag, the castle crown occupies the hilltop with a prominent rectangular stone keep rising above the summit; clusters of stone buildings and a small church sit close to the tower. The slopes are wooded and terraced, with a small hamlet and farm buildings below. In its prime the summit was enclosed by concentric stone curtain walls (triple line) with intermediate service buildings between the outer rings; masonry is pale grey local stone, surfaces roughly coursed.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1077.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Canossa Castle — including 3 interiors: inner ward and the lord's residence, church of sant'apollonio (exterior and interior), benedictine convent and cloister. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
See Canossa Castle with the fires lit.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1077 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →
