Roccalbegna is an Italian town of 922 inhabitants in the province of Grosseto in Tuscany.
Located about 43 km from the capital, the center rises in the upper valley of the Albegna river, at the foot of two steep cliffs, one higher than the other, on each of which stands a fortification, the Rocca aldobrandesca and the Cassero Senese.
The municipal territory extends in the innermost and northern part of the Albegna and Fiora hills, and is crossed by the middle course of the Albegna river. It borders to the north with the municipality of Arcidosso, to the east with the municipality of Santa Fiora, to the southeast with the municipality of Semproniano, to the southwest with the municipality of Scansano and to the northwest with the municipality of Campagnatico.
The altitude varies between the more widespread hilly and mountainous altitudes which begin to register in the northern and eastern part of the territory, near the first slopes of the mountain massif of Mount Amiata. While the hamlet of Cana rises to 480 meters above sea level, the center of Roccalbegna is at 522 meters above sea level. (similar altitudes are also recorded in Santa Caterina and Vallerona), while the locality of Triana is located at an altitude of 769 meters above sea level. which corresponds to the same altitude as the summit of Mount Faete which rises at the south-western end of the municipal area.
Places of interest in the village:
The walls of Roccalbegna constitute the defensive system of the historic nucleus of the village of Roccalbegna.
The walls were built during the thirteenth century first by the Aldobrandeschi counts and later by the Republic of Siena, which interspersed the perimeter with watchtowers. During 1445 some renovation works were undertaken, to remember those of 1468 by the architect Giuliano di Bartolo. In the contemporary age, a part of the walls with the Porta di Montagna, which turned north, was demolished.
Of the ancient gates, only the gate of Maremma remains today, facing south, and which opens onto the square of the church of the Madonna del Soccorso. The northern gate, Porta di Montagna, no longer exists today, and is the continuation of via Garibaldi which opens onto the square outside the perimeter, for the construction of which a small part of the walls was demolished. Three of the Sienese towers remain, one of which has been lowered and considerably remodeled.
The Aldobrandesca fortress, also called the Sasso, is a ruined castle, located on the top of the highest cliff overlooking the town below. Imposing ruins remain and the wall structures are completely covered in stone, with some loopholes that open at different heights. They are articulated in an irregular shape, adapting to the particular orography of the top of the cliff; the fortification, now devoid of a top cover, had to develop on at least two levels.
It was built in medieval times; the Aldobrandeschi used this fortification for defensive and sighting functions; its particular position made the fortification practically impregnable and it had also been studied as a refuge for the population in the event of a siege conducted by enemy troops. During the thirteenth century, the fortress was the fulcrum of the defensive system together with the Cassero located on the top of the other cliff.
The Rocca was abandoned over the years and only in 1624 did it become a city palace for the Bichis; since then, the fortress has been completely abandoned, reaching up to today in the form of imposing ruins that recall its past grandeur.
The Castle of Trina, has been present since 760, but its existence is attested only by the division of the Aldobrandeschi property in 1216, when it was assigned to the Santa Fiora branch. In 1388 the Triana was purchased by the Sienese Piccolomini family who made it the seat of a rural lordship during the sixteenth century.
The Piccolominis remained owners of the castle and the surrounding land until 1962, when the castle, considerably transformed and with little remnants of the original forms, was left to the Society of Executors of Pious Dispositions of Siena. The ancient medieval castle is enclosed within a wall with a single access door: the complex also includes a tower which was the noble residence and two buildings arranged around a courtyard .
Traditions and folklore
The ancient rite of fire, the Focarazza, is held in Santa Caterina on the evening of 24 November, i.e. the eve of the “birthday” of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the parish priest of the small center in procession on the hillock that overlooks it and blesses a normal pile of fagots and wood in the middle of which a long Turkey oak pole, the so-called “stollo”, is driven.
At the end of the religious ceremony he set fire to the pile and let the flames rise to the sky, to illuminate a countryside now wrapped in the darkness of the evening. When the fire decreases in intensity, the men of Santa Caterina take action, divided into groups according to the district they belong to. Each participant undertakes, in a sort of ancestral purifying rite, to challenge the heat and smoke to try to take possession of the “stollo” and bring it to their own neighborhood.
Subsequently, the trunk is cut into as many pieces as there were participants, so everyone can take home a portion of the object. Subsequently each piece will be set to burn in the fireplace of the house and when the flames have completely consumed it, the ashes will be taken which will then be scattered in the fields and gardens as a wish for a fertile agricultural season.