NIGEL'S RAMBLES

Friday, October 17, 2014

Rossena

I have passed by the castle of Rossena many times, but I have never got round to seeing the inside of this imposing castle perched high above the surrounding countryside on a basalt outcrop in the Enza valley.The local Diocese who own the castle want to sell it, so I thought I had better make a visit before it was perhaps too late.

Castello di Rossena, RE

Castello di Rossena & Rossenella, RE

Unlike its more famous close neighbour Canossa, the castle is still intact. Rossena castle formed part of an extensive defensive system centred on Canossa. A series of castles and towers in visual contact between them meant that a warning of invasion could be passed very rapidly to the main castle at Canossa.

Castello di Rossena, RE

The castle started life as a simple watch tower in 950 just like the Rossenella tower situated a few hundred metres away . The castle slowly took the form we see today under the Correggio family who owned it from the thirteenth century until the beginning of the seventeenth century. The military purpose of the castle still dominates the architecture and has not been lost during centuries of transformation.


Boiling water would be poured down on univited guests from the tower,Castello di Rossena, RE

Entrance stairs,Castello di Rossena, RE

The castle was besieged in 1557 during one of the many wars between Italy’s various city states and a projectile fired from a mortar caused the munitions stored in the top of the main tower to explode . The tower remains permanently shortened.

Main door,Castello di Rossena, RE

Visiting the castle one can appreciate the subtle steps that were taken to make life very difficult for any besiegers who managed to break through the outer walls. After passing under a tower were boiling water would be poured down from above, the invader would be disorientated and forced to watch where he was putting this feet by the deliberately uneven staircase. The invader having battered down the door now had to pass into a small space with the staircase up to the upper levels. Again from the battlements above the soldiers below would have to run the gauntlet again.

Above the main door, Castello di Rossena, RE

Stairs up to the Piazza d'Armi", Castello di Rossena, RE

The interior of the castle is rather Spartan with to be honest not a lot to see, there are some interesting alfresco fragments in some of the rooms. Some parts of the castle including the dungeon were rebuilt with little respect for the original structure after an earthquake in the nineteenth century. The castles prison originally had no doors, just a small window and the prisoners were lowered down into the cell via a hole in the ceiling. It is quite chilling to imagine being imprisoned here when you are standing inside this dark cell.

Piazza d'Armi, Castello di Rossena, RE

Castello di Rossena, RE

The “Piazza d, Armi” was very different to how I had imagined it from seeing the castle from the outside. I had always imagined a little garden. The view over the surrounding countryside is wonderful.

The food store and water condiut,Castello di Rossena, RE

The water supply for the castle was quite ingenious. Rain water was collected from the buildings above and channelled into a conduit which channelled the water into a large cistern under the food store.

Castello di Rossena, RE

The castle is well worth a visit, the guide explained lots of the little architectural and military details that I would not have noticed on my own and so made the visit fascinating.

Rossenella & Rossena, RE

Rossenella, RE

Sunday, September 14, 2014

The Devil's Tooth.

Whilst looking for a source of walking maps for the Province of Parma on the Net, I came across a pamphlet for a place called “I Salti del Diavolo” which translated becomes “The Devil's Leaps” at Chiastre in the Baganza valley near Parma . When I saw the photographs I knew that this would be the destination of my next hike.

Salti del Diavolo, Chiastre,PR

A series of strange sculpted two dimensional mini mountains rise in succession across the landscape for a length of about five kilometres. A well kept series of footpaths enables you to explore these strange rock outcrops. An afternoon is not enough to explore the whole site.

The formation of these rocks was caused by the erosion of softer rocks around a vertical vein of hard conglomerate rock . On the north face of the outcrops a layer of fine grained rock forms a separate strata.

Salti del Diavolo, Chiastre,PR

This fine grained rock was once prized by the local stone masons who provided stone decorations for important buildings in the valley.

After leaving the car at Chiastre I took the short but steep footpath that climbs up to Monte Chiastre where the “Devils Tooth” is to be found . A huge stone pillar rises up like a sharks tooth. The footpath continues through the gap between the tooth and the outcrop for a few metres along the wall.

Salti del Diavolo, Chiastre,PR

Taking an alternative footpath back down to Chiastre, the path then drops down to the River Baganza along the line of the outcrops. A short section of the path allows one to walk along the narrow crest of one of the outcrops. For me this was the most spectacular part of the walk with the river far below the shear drop on one side.

Salti del Diavolo, Chiastre,PR

Arriving at the river one has a good general view of the whole system. Here I decided to stop as time as ever was running out. The return footpath has been cleverly thought out to give you a views the outcrop from a distance.

Salti del Diavolo, Chiastre,PR

This is a fascinating place that merits another visit to explore the stretch of footpath between Cassio and the River Baganza that I did not have time to do. Probably I will do the other stretch of footpath in winter as the foliage on the trees tend to hide the outcrops in many places.

Salti del Diavolo, Chiastre,PR

Friday, October 17, 2014

Rossena

Sunday, September 14, 2014

The Devil's Tooth.

Copyright 2023Nigel Voak