The castle of Brina is located on the left slope of a hill in the lower Val di Magra, along the ridge between Falcinello and Ponzano Superiore, within the district of Sarzana and on the border with Santo Stefano di Magra. The original part of the castle could date back to the 11th century. It was first mentioned in a sales contract on May 25, 1055. The houses, the lands and the castle’s walls were mentioned in a sales document on June 14, 1078, in which Pellegrino de Bruciore sold all his belongings and the lands outside the walls of the defensive fortification of Brina to the bishop of Luni.
During the 14th century, the castle was torn down, not by war, but as a result of a systematic destruction. This is confirmed by the ruins of the buildings, which show signs of having been destroyed using picks. The tower was torn down through the mining technique, that is to say by substituting a line of rocks at the base of the building with wood and setting it on fire.
The castle is in ruins but it has been made safe and strengthened after a recent restoration.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.