Rocca Imperiale

Member of I Borghi più belli d'Italia

Titta FavoinoRocca Imperiale - panoramaPublic domain
DonGatleyStauferburg Rocca Imperiale 01 CC BY-SA 3.0
Titta FavoinoCastello svevo - cinta muraria CC BY-SA 4.0
Titta FavoinoIl convento CC BY-SA 4.0
DonGatleyStauferburg Rocca Imperiale 02 CC BY-SA 3.0
Jean-Claude Richard de Saint-NonVoyage pittoresque ou description des royaumes de Naples et de Sicile : troisieme volume contenant le voyage ou circuit…Public domain
Abbrey82Rocca Imperiale vista al tramonto CC BY-SA 4.0
D.belfioreRocca Imperiale - Castello svevo CC BY-SA 4.0

Frederick II's 13th-century castle still crowns this hill town, the northernmost in Calabria, which looks over the arc of the Gulf of Taranto about 4 km from the Ionian Sea. Rocca Imperiale is best known for its lemons, which carry an IGP label, and in late August for Il Federiciano, a poetry festival that draws poets from all over Italy and abroad.

Highlights

The Castello Svevo, the 13th-century castle that dominates the town
Rocca Imperiale lemons, an IGP product since 2011
Il Federiciano poetry festival in the last week of August
The wax museum inside the former monastery
Santa Maria in Cielo Assunta, the 13th-century mother church

Text adapted from Wikipedia (Rocca Imperiale (IT), Rocca Imperiale (EN)), Wikivoyage (Rocca Imperiale). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Population: 3,204

Things to see

church of Santa Maria in Cielo Assunta (IT)

Events through the year

Procession of the Crucifix Religious · 30 MarchRecalls the crucifix said to have bled on 30 March 1691
Good Friday procession Religious · Good FridayOld statues carried through the old town by the Congregazione del Cristo
Madonna della Nova and San Francesco da Paola Religious · Saturday and Sunday after EasterIcon carried from the sanctuary to the Chiesa Madre, then a joint feast
Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua Religious · 13 JuneMass and procession around the Monastery church
Feast of the Madonna della Nova Religious · 1 and 2 JulyEvening procession in the old town, icon returned to its sanctuary at dawn
Feast of the Madonna della Nova at the Marina Religious · 12 to 14 AugustIn the municipality's Marina hamlet: procession on 13 August, festivities around it
Il Federiciano Music and arts · Last week of AugustPoetry festival with poets from Italy and abroad

Dates follow the traditional patterns in our sources: check locally before you travel.

Adapted from Wikipedia (Rocca Imperiale), Wikivoyage (Rocca Imperiale). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Local food & wine

Rocca Imperiale lemon (PGI)Local produceLemons protected by PGI since 2011, also used in liqueurs and jams
Frizzuli ca mollicBread and pastaPasta with tomato sauce and breadcrumbs, cooked on Shrove Tuesday
Tagliarill c cicrBread and pastaTagliolini or tagliatelle with chickpeas, made on St Joseph's day
Anna Nicoletta MenzellaLamie archi in volta CC BY-SA 4.0
Peperoni cruschiLocal produceDried crisp peppers, widely used in local cooking
Stuffed artichokesDishCooked for the octave of Easter, like rascatill pasta in sauce

Adapted from Wikipedia (Rocca Imperiale). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where to sleep

3 places to stay within 3 km

B&Bs and guest houses 3

Nearby member villages

Oriolo · 14 km
Trebisacce · 27 km
Civita · 39 km
Viggianello · 46 km
Morano Calabro · 49 km