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Considered by many to be the most beautiful castle in our country, Rochetta Mattei is a place full of charm and mystery. Composed of a series of buildings, the fortress rises majestically in the splendid natural environment of the Apennine hills, between Bologna and Pistoia, in a strategic position that gives an incredible glance over the surrounding landscape.
Fairy-tale and imperious, the Rocchetta castle was built in the mid-1800s by Count Cesare Mattei, who made it his faithful home until the day he died. Passed on to its heirs, following the huge damage caused by German troops during the Second World War, the Rocchetta castle was restored and finally opened to the public in 2015. A long-awaited event and wilfully desired by institutions and citizens, who can enjoy the magic of its interior and the precious historical legacies.
A castle with countless facets, a precious place for a special day out with family or friends. It is advisable to book your visit well in advance.
History and art
The entire complex was built at the wish of Count Mattei, a scholar and self-taught physician, a great mind that is not well known today. The count lived in the Rocchetta castle during the last 37 years of his life, fond of those walls that represented for him the crowning of a dream.
Visitors are guided along an evocative journey made even more compelling thanks to expert tour guides, who with their stories allow visitors to immerse themselves back in the days of the count. One of the first aspects that strikes the tourist is the winning mix of styles in which the sumptuous rooms were decorated and the imposing architecture: from medieval to Moorish, nothing is left to chance and every corner conveys its own irrefutable story.
From the balcony of Romeo and Juliet to the zebra arches, from the fake mosaics to the precious fabrics, wherever you move you are surrounded by figurative choices ranging from alchemy to esotericism, distinctive traits of the count’s personality.
