Rocchetta Mattei is a fortress located on the Northern Apennine Mountains, on a hill which is 407 meters above sea level, in the locality of Savignano in the municipality of Grizzana Morandi, on the Strada Statale 64 Porrettana, in the Metropolitan City of Bologna.

Built in the second half of nineteenth century, it blends various eclectic styles, from Medieval to Moorish.
Rocchetta Mattei was the home of count Cesare Mattei, a scholar, politician and self-taught physician who founded electrohomeopathy, a practice founded on homeopathy.

On November 5, 1850, the first stone of Rocchetta Mattei was laid, and as early as 1859 it became habitable and eventually Cesare Mattei’s permanent residence. Inside Rocchetta Mattei, the count led a life as a medieval castellan and even created a court, complete with a buffoon.

The castle hosted illustrious individuals who came from everywhere to undergo Mattei's treatment, including Ludwig III of Bavaria and Alexander II of Russia. In 1925, there was an official visit by the Prince of Piedmont. Even Fyodor Dostoevsky quotes the Count in The Brothers Karamazov, when he tells the devil he managed to recover from terrible rheumatism thanks to a book and some drops from Count Mattei.

Rocchetta Mattei

Account

by category

Login

Name

by region

Title

Name in English

The Castello di Montecuccolo is a castle in Pavullo nel Frignano, Modena, Italy.
Construction
The castle's primary tower was built in the 11th century as a watchtower for the protection of the surrounding town. A defensive wooden palisade was constructed at its base. In the 12th century, an adjoining fortified house was built along with stone walls to replace the palisade.

Over the course of the 13th and 14th centuries, new buildings were constructed and the walls were extended to encompass them, creating an enclosed piazza. During the 15th and 16th centuries a church - the Church of San Lorenzo - was built enclosing a second, smaller, piazza at a lower level than the older castle buildings.

History
It was the birthplace of the 17th century condottiero Raimondo Montecuccoli.

Castello di Montecuccolo

Il castello di Sestola è una rocca che sorge su di uno sperone roccioso nel comune omonimo, in provincia di Modena, in Corso Umberto I.
Territorio
La posizione strategica di controllo delle vallate dello Scoltenna e del Leo, infatti, la poneva in una posizione di controllo all'accesso alla parte sud del Frignano. La parte vecchia del paese sorge a ridosso di questo antico insediamento.

Storia
L'antica rocca, così come ci appare oggi, è stata ricostruita verso la metà del XVI secolo ma è di origini molto più antiche: il primo documento in cui si nomina il castello di Sestola è il Diploma di Astolfo del 753 d.C., col quale il re dei Longobardi faceva dono del Castrum Sextulae (l'attuale Sestola) e dei territori adiacenti all'Abbazia di Nonantola, allora fondata da sant'Anselmo. Nel XIII fu teatro di scontri e assedi tra modenesi e bolognesi, Sestola era già un piccolo comune autonomo. Dal 1337, grazie alla sua posizione centrale e facilmente difendibile la fortezza fu sede del governatore del Frignano nominato dagli Estensi.

Al decadere della capitale del Frignano, nell'Ottocento, il castello fu trasformato in penitenziario, che rimase in attività fino al 1866.

Sul finire del XX secolo la rocca subì un'ulteriore trasformazione ospitando un osservatorio meteorologico e un Istituto estivo per la cura dei bambini.

Nel 1964 il castello era adibito a scuola elementare con internato ed ospitava bimbi del Nord Italia assistiti dall'ANEA.

Castello di Sestola

On a hill in the Val di Bisenzio, between Usella and Carmignanello in the municipality of Cantagallo, sits the imposing Rocca di Cerbaia, whose name comes from the presence of deer, or cervi, in the area.

Its origins probably date to the 12th century: the tower was given by Federico Barbarossa to the Alberti counts, who made it the cornerstone of their defenses along the road leading to Lombardy.

Between the 12th and 13th centuries, the Rocca, or fortress, was used by the Rabbiosi counts as a bastion during the conflict for control of the territory against the Republic of Prato. The result of the fighting was the elimination of the feudal system in this area and the gradual distancing of the Alberti from Prato and the Val di Bisenzio.

The fortress was not only a tool for war, however, but it was also where the noblewoman Cunizza da Romano lived, who Dante wrote about in his Divine Comedy. She spent her final years recounting the memories of her adventurous life. According to an old myth, it is said that Dante Alighieri, fleeing Florence in 1285, arrived one cold night at the castle seeking refuge, but was denied entry.

The fortress, made from unevenly set local sandstone, still retains its two perimeter walls: the first lower-lying wall includes a doorway that leads to the remains of a medieval apsidal chapel, whereas the other wall features a barrel-covered tank and service rooms. The remains of a tap are found in the central core.

The last Count of Cerbaia was Niccolò d'Aghinolfo, who the Florentine Republic paid 6,200 gold fiorini to for the fortress. In the 15th century, it was almost knocked down, but in 1512, the podestà in Prato used it again to defend the city from Spanish troops. It was handed over to the local, noble Novellucci family in the 17th century, becoming part of their Gricignana estate, before it was purchased by the Edlmanns in the 19th century. Today, it is owned by the municipality of Cantagallo.