Rocchetta
ADDRESS AND CONTACTS
42014 Castellarano 0039 0536 850114 - Castellarano Municipality
0039 335 7014932 - Centro Studi Storici Castellaranesi
HISTORICAL NOTES
The Rocchetta, a public asset owned by the Municipality of Castellarano, was an outpost to control the access roads. In fact, it was necessary to go beyond the Porta Maggiore (facing the current Piazza XX Luglio), formerly preceded by a drawbridge, to enter in Piazza d'Armi (today Piazzale Cairoli) where the military garrison, under the direction of the Captain of the Rocca, carried out the task of guarding the gates of the town.
From the Rocchetta, also called in old documents "Castelletto" or "Porta", started a circle of walls and a patrol walkway, still visible today, which encircled the whole hill. Its irregular plan is divided into three main towers - the Levatoia Tower, the Cappellana Tower and the Rosa Tower - under which the entrances open, once equipped with shutters; to these is added the original "heptagonal" turret in the north-east corner.
The vault of the Cappellana door is characterized by the seventeenth-century frescoes that decorate it, of particular interest is the fresco portraying the Madonna della Ghiara adoring the child with San Pancrazio on the left and San Macario Bishop on the right. What you see here today is a copy placed during the restoration works promoted by the local Pro Loco in the 1970s, while the original painting is kept inside the town hall.
La Rocchetta shows a set of sedimentations derived from the different phases and historical functions, of modification and growth of the plant. Moreover, its external appearance, especially towards the square in front, does not differ much from that of a Renaissance castle characterized by the beautiful loggia on the main floor. When the walls lost their military value, the Piazza d'Armi became an urban space intended for trade, residences and warehouses. In this square there was the Pavaglione portico or loggia della mercanzia, the public salt warehouse, a communication passage with the pawnshop. The Rocchetta itself for a large historical period became a place of residence for some citizens of Castellarano.
The Rocchetta restored in the eighties, today lends itself to simple visits that allow you to admire the precious testimonies returned by the recent renovations:
- The defense moat where the water of the Rio di Castellarano once flowed
- The three "gates", two of which are external, the Porta Maggiore with the Torre Levatoia and the Porta Cappellana which leads into Via Mulino and, one internal, which leads directly to the Castle surmounted by the Torre della Rosa
- Piazzale Cairoli, once called Piazza d'Armi, served as a filter to trap the enemy who had passed the Porta Maggiore; - The "loggia", with its six arches overlooks the moat and the square in front
- The patrol walkway leads along the ramparts of the Torre Levatoia, through the loggia, up to the hanging garden.
OPENING TIMES
The Village can always be visited for free.
The Rocchetta exhibition halls are open every first and third weekend of the month. Guided tours on request / reservation required for groups and schools: 0039 3357014932 - Centro Studi Storici Castellaranesi
HOW TO GET THERE
Castellarano
By car
From the exit Reggio Emilia on the Motorway A1, take SS567 to Scandiano, then Provincial road to Castellarano
By train
From Reggio Emilia, TPER train Reggio-Sassuolo then bus No. 88
By camper
Parking and Camper service in via Don Reverberi, 17
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