Despite the Rocca of Camporgiano has the name of the Estensi who dominated the territory only since the XV century, some researchers say that it originated from an ancient military garrison of the Liguri Apuani, a pre-Indo-European population against whom the Etruscans and the Romans fought for the possession of the Garfagnana.

It cannot be known when the stronghold assumed its current architectural appearance. Certainly enough, this structure represents the original nucleus of the future chief town that was still identified with the castle until 1376. The fortress was cited in numerous documents of the time and they show it belonged to Spinetta Malaspina in 1313 (with the permission of the Emperor Henry VII) and to Florence in 1341. The church on the inside, yet, had already been cited in the XII century in a papal bull issued by Anastasio IV.
Under the dominion of both the Lorraine and Florence, the castle was the siege of the Vicariate of Camporgiano. In the XV century, Camporgiano became part of the Estensi's dominions. It is thought that the town owned them its name because the Emilian family carried out the last modernizations thanks to which we can see some parts of the castle today. At the time of the Ferrara's rule, in effect, the defensive structure was necessary to garrison the new commercial routes that started from the Garfagnana and went towards the trading centres of the Padana valley.
Unfortunately, an earthquake occurred around 1920 irreparably damaged most of the renovated Renaissance structure. Nevertheless, the huge foundation of the fortalice complex, above which a luxury residence rises today, is still visible. During World War II, part of the wall that divided one of the towers from its interior room used a shelter from bombardments was perforated. In this occasion, it was discovered by chance that the wall had been skilfully built with big hollows on the inside where the inhabitants of Camporgiano probably took refuge when the brigands and enemy armies assaulted them. Currently, the Rocca degli Estensi houses an important Museum of Pottery, where also some findings discovered inside the hollows of the walls are kept.