Forte di San Rocco, fort in Marina di Grosseto, Italy

The Forte di San Rocco is a brick fortification on the right bank of the San Rocco canal in Marina di Grosseto. Sloping brick curtain walls enclose an inner courtyard entered on the east through a low-arched travertine portal bearing the Lorraine coat of arms. The main building is a three-storey rectangular tower, its seaward west side shielded by a bastion with a massive scarp base and a summit terrace that held the artillery.

The Lorraine family built the present fort in the second half of the eighteenth century on the site of an earlier lookout structure. It kept watch over the coast and served as a logistics base for the hydraulic reclamation directed by Leonardo Ximenes. Once the canals drained the hinterland marshes and Lake Prile, the building was decommissioned and turned into a military district; in recent decades it has been divided into private homes.

The fort's name comes from the local canal running alongside it. The Lorraine family, who once ruled this area, left their crest above the entrance as a mark of their authority that remains visible today.

The fort sits in a quiet area near the local marina and is freely accessible to explore from the outside. Weather conditions affect the experience, so visiting on clear days lets you enjoy the terrace views over the water.

The fort was built as a logistics base for Leonardo Ximenes's hydraulic reclamation works, which drained the old marshes of the hinterland and Lake Prile. Once the canals were finished, the military building lost its role and was turned into a military district, then divided into private homes in recent decades.