Rocca Grimalda
Encyclopedia
Rocca Grimalda is a village and comune
in the Province of Alessandria
, Piedmont
, Italy
. It lies in Alto Monferrato, an historical region of Piedmont, and it was built upon a rocky hill on the Orba's left bank. It is very close to Ovada
and very easy to reach through the highway and Cristoforo Colombo Airport in Genoa
.
, the so called Ligures
, left a number of traces in many places of Orba valley but especially in Rocca Grimalda: the river has always had gold in its sand and during the Roman times, a town was built in the plain under the hill in order to exploit this resource: old documents report about this centre, called Rondinaria, which was a wealthy little town in the middle of thick forests and had likely some sort of defence structure, probably on Rocca Grimalda's hill, which still dominates the whole plain around and the valley’s entrance.
Right in the plain an old necropolis was found in the 1980s but on the other side of the village’s land another high rocky hill was found to have been shaped as some sort of castle with a deep ditch and high palisades, probably from the Longobard time: the same place, called “Trionzo”, was linked with old legends of witches, dances and evil spirits.
The village’s existence was first stated in some documents of 900 and since then Rocca Grimalda changed a number of landlords while conquerors came from the see and from the plains: the powerful Republic of Genoa
, the free town of Alessandria
, the dukedoms of Monferrato and Milan
fought for centuries in order to have the control of this strategic stronghold.
But Rocca Grimalda’s real rulers were the bandit families from the beginning of 1700 until 1800: they used the thick forests around the village to hide and rob the passers by. Rocca Grimalda got famous for its guns and long knives while no landlord managed to control them, also because they had strong support from people, traditionally against the official rulers coming from other places. During the 18th century everything changed, the forest was replaced by vineyards, only some little pieces survived as parks of noble mansions.
In 1736 Rocca Grimalda became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia
and it shared the history of Piedmont
under the Savoia
’s crown.
During the II World War many young men from the village died in war, many others run to the mountains and fought against the Fascists and the Germans
occuping the country: they had to face hard defeates and massacres but they finally managed to set the region free before the arrival of the American and English Armies.
After the War many inhabitants moved to big cities like Genoa
, Milan
, Turin
and many others in other countries and continents, looking for the wealthy that country life couldn’t give them: they abandoned their own vineyards, their little old houses in the centre of the village but not the links with their own past and relatives. A lot of them use to come back together with the new generations during summer, when the village is animated again.
From the 1990s the village is living a new renaissance, both I economy and in society, basing its own wealthy on great wines, as “Dolcetto di Ovada” and “Barbera del Monferrato”, tasty food and historical places, which attract tourists from all over the world.
The Castle was built up in the 13th century as a military place but it was turned into a noble palace five centuries later: it has a medieval part but the visitor can feel the atmosphere of Renaissance
and of 1800 in other rooms of the building. There is a high circular tower which was used as prisons for long times and its walls have still drawings and signatures by unlucky guests who lived and maybe died there during the 17th and 18th centuries..
The Parish Church, San Giacomo Maggiore
, a building of Romanic origin in the centre of the village, is decorated with paintings about St. John Bapt's life. This saint was then replaced by St. James in the villagers' devotion: St. James was a very popular saint in the area because a pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela
in Spain
passed right through these lands.
Two minor churches of the 1600 and 1700 are dedicated to the Lady and the other to St. James Bapt. and are worth to be visited: they have very nice and old wooden statues which are carried through the little roads of the village once a year as a sign of popular devotion.
The oldest church in Rocca Grimalda is St. Limbania, which was built on the ruins of an old castle, in the lower part of the village: the church is dedicated to Mary’s Assumption but everybody call it St.Limbania. Inside there are nice frescos of the 15th century but other parts of the building were added later on, when the church turned into some sort of sanctuary for the muleteers who used to carry goods from the sea to the plains and back, through the mountains. They used to start their journey from a church dedicated to St. Limbania near the sea, in Genoa-Voltri, and they stopped in Rocca Grimalda's church, in order to be sure of St.Limbania's protection through the dangerous journey through the mountains.
Rocca Grimalda’s inhabitants generally have a haughty nature, which is probably due to the violent history of this community from its very beginning and their geographical isolation gave them quite a close behaviour but allowed them to keep on traditions more than in many other places as well as a distinctive dialect which differs even from the one spoken in its closest country surroundings.
First of all the primordial dance of “Lachera”, which is performed every year during Carnival
time, with features of foundation and propitiatory spring rite. Lachera is nowadays regarded as one of the most important and original carnivals in Europe.
Lachera is performed in carnival time in its most complete form, with a wedding train through the countryside and 5 day of dances, songs, wine and great food, until it reaches the village and the rite itself is completely performed. Lachera is often exported in other regions and countries, like Belgium
, Austria
, France
, Germany
. For more information you can look at the official website of the association Lachera di Rocca Grimalda
With the same confidence the villagers defend also an old and tasty recipe of theirs, Peirbuieira, which is served every year the last week of August in a festival when people from all Italy use to come and invade the little village in order to taste it.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the Province of Alessandria
Province of Alessandria
The Province of Alessandria is an Italian province, with a population of some 430,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The provincial capital is the city of Alessandria....
, Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It lies in Alto Monferrato, an historical region of Piedmont, and it was built upon a rocky hill on the Orba's left bank. It is very close to Ovada
Ovada
Ovada is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km southeast of Turin and about 30 km south of Alessandria....
and very easy to reach through the highway and Cristoforo Colombo Airport in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
.
History
The old populations who lived here before the RomansRoman Kingdom
The Roman Kingdom was the period of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a monarchical form of government of the city of Rome and its territories....
, the so called Ligures
Ligures
The Ligures were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, a region of north-western Italy.-Classical sources:...
, left a number of traces in many places of Orba valley but especially in Rocca Grimalda: the river has always had gold in its sand and during the Roman times, a town was built in the plain under the hill in order to exploit this resource: old documents report about this centre, called Rondinaria, which was a wealthy little town in the middle of thick forests and had likely some sort of defence structure, probably on Rocca Grimalda's hill, which still dominates the whole plain around and the valley’s entrance.
Right in the plain an old necropolis was found in the 1980s but on the other side of the village’s land another high rocky hill was found to have been shaped as some sort of castle with a deep ditch and high palisades, probably from the Longobard time: the same place, called “Trionzo”, was linked with old legends of witches, dances and evil spirits.
The village’s existence was first stated in some documents of 900 and since then Rocca Grimalda changed a number of landlords while conquerors came from the see and from the plains: the powerful Republic of Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
, the free town of Alessandria
Alessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
, the dukedoms of Monferrato and Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
fought for centuries in order to have the control of this strategic stronghold.
But Rocca Grimalda’s real rulers were the bandit families from the beginning of 1700 until 1800: they used the thick forests around the village to hide and rob the passers by. Rocca Grimalda got famous for its guns and long knives while no landlord managed to control them, also because they had strong support from people, traditionally against the official rulers coming from other places. During the 18th century everything changed, the forest was replaced by vineyards, only some little pieces survived as parks of noble mansions.
In 1736 Rocca Grimalda became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
and it shared the history of Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
under the Savoia
Savoia
Savoia may refer to:-*Savoy*Savoie*House of Savoy, a royal house of Italy until 1946.*Savoia-Marchetti, an Italian aircraft manufacturer.*Savoia Castle, a castle near Prague, Czech Republic....
’s crown.
During the II World War many young men from the village died in war, many others run to the mountains and fought against the Fascists and the Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
occuping the country: they had to face hard defeates and massacres but they finally managed to set the region free before the arrival of the American and English Armies.
After the War many inhabitants moved to big cities like Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
and many others in other countries and continents, looking for the wealthy that country life couldn’t give them: they abandoned their own vineyards, their little old houses in the centre of the village but not the links with their own past and relatives. A lot of them use to come back together with the new generations during summer, when the village is animated again.
From the 1990s the village is living a new renaissance, both I economy and in society, basing its own wealthy on great wines, as “Dolcetto di Ovada” and “Barbera del Monferrato”, tasty food and historical places, which attract tourists from all over the world.
Touristical information
Rocca Grimalda has fortunately kept its medieval dimension and structure, following the shape of the rocky hill upon which it was built. The names of some parts of the village remind of its old defence role: "Bastioni" (the bastions) "Torricella" (little tower), "Castelvero" (old castle), "Porta" (the gate) and others. The village has still only one gate, right under the Castle.The Castle was built up in the 13th century as a military place but it was turned into a noble palace five centuries later: it has a medieval part but the visitor can feel the atmosphere of Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and of 1800 in other rooms of the building. There is a high circular tower which was used as prisons for long times and its walls have still drawings and signatures by unlucky guests who lived and maybe died there during the 17th and 18th centuries..
The Parish Church, San Giacomo Maggiore
San Giacomo Maggiore
San Giacomo Maggiore is a church in Bologna, central Italy. It was founded by the Augustinian Order in 1267 and houses, among the rest, the Bentivoglio Chapel, featuring numerous Renaissance artworks.-History:...
, a building of Romanic origin in the centre of the village, is decorated with paintings about St. John Bapt's life. This saint was then replaced by St. James in the villagers' devotion: St. James was a very popular saint in the area because a pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
passed right through these lands.
Two minor churches of the 1600 and 1700 are dedicated to the Lady and the other to St. James Bapt. and are worth to be visited: they have very nice and old wooden statues which are carried through the little roads of the village once a year as a sign of popular devotion.
The oldest church in Rocca Grimalda is St. Limbania, which was built on the ruins of an old castle, in the lower part of the village: the church is dedicated to Mary’s Assumption but everybody call it St.Limbania. Inside there are nice frescos of the 15th century but other parts of the building were added later on, when the church turned into some sort of sanctuary for the muleteers who used to carry goods from the sea to the plains and back, through the mountains. They used to start their journey from a church dedicated to St. Limbania near the sea, in Genoa-Voltri, and they stopped in Rocca Grimalda's church, in order to be sure of St.Limbania's protection through the dangerous journey through the mountains.
Rocca Grimalda’s inhabitants generally have a haughty nature, which is probably due to the violent history of this community from its very beginning and their geographical isolation gave them quite a close behaviour but allowed them to keep on traditions more than in many other places as well as a distinctive dialect which differs even from the one spoken in its closest country surroundings.
First of all the primordial dance of “Lachera”, which is performed every year during Carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
time, with features of foundation and propitiatory spring rite. Lachera is nowadays regarded as one of the most important and original carnivals in Europe.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. For more information you can look at the official website of the association Lachera di Rocca Grimalda
With the same confidence the villagers defend also an old and tasty recipe of theirs, Peirbuieira, which is served every year the last week of August in a festival when people from all Italy use to come and invade the little village in order to taste it.