Description
Rocca Imperiale is a unique village and its shape resembles a pyramid that slowly descends towards the plain.
Our visit starts from the imposing Swabian Castle located on top of the hill on which the town of Rocca Imperiale, with the houses arranged in steps, about 250 meters above sea level.
The castle, commissioned by Frederick II of Swabia, was built between 1220 and 1225, in a place of great strategic and military importance: to control the ancient Appia-Traiana road that joined the Appia Antica to Brindisi, starting from Reggio Calabria and going along the Ionic road.
After the guided tour of the Castle we continue through the ancient village reaching the Mother Church which dates back to the time of Frederick II (1239). It is in Romanesque style to which the Baroque style was later added. Of great beauty is the wooden polyptych of 1600 placed behind the high altar and the miraculous wooden crucifix of 1600.
At the end of the visit there is a stop to taste the famous limoncello made with the typical product of Rocca Imperiale, the Igp Lemon.
The oldest historical source so far found on the presence of the lemon in this area dates back to the seventeenth century. The IGP lemon has been cultivated for centuries in the territory of Rocca Imperiale and is known in the area with the name “Ancient or Nostrano di Rocca Imperiale”.
Another important stop is the Wax Museum inside the ancient Monastery of the Observant Friars. It offers a particular suggestion thanks to the combination of the sacred and the profane for the presence of very different characters.
