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Visit Campofelice di Roccella
Campofelice di Roccella is on the northern coast of Sicily, between Termini Imerese and Cefalu. Because of its proximity to the sea and a very long beach, it has many amenities for tourists and is a popular summer destination.
Among the most significant monuments of Roccella are the Mother Church in the Piazza Garibaldi, and of course the castle.
The Mother Church was built by the Prince of Roccella Don Gaspare La Grutta in the early 18th century and dedicated to “Santa Rosalia.” It was restored in the mid-19th and late 20th centuries. From the architectural point of view, the Mother Church has a front intersected by pilasters and two bell towers. The interior lighting is provided by a large rectangular window above the door. It has a nave and holds a wooden crucifix dating from the 17th century. In the various chapels you can see wooden statues representing the Virgin, Christ, San Jose, Santa Rosalia, Saint Lucia, and an "Annunciation" of the eighteenth century.
With regard to the Castle of Roccella, studies have shown that the tower, still visible today, dates from the early origins of the castle in the 14th century. built with materials from western Sicily it consists of a tower and a rectangular building. The castle stands on a rock overlooking in part the sea.
The reconstruction of the original Castle structure was made possible thanks to some watercolors by Tiburzio Spannocchi (1543-1606) and Canillo Camilliani (died 1603) of the end of the 16th century, showing the castle still intact. The tower survived essentially intact, while the Palace was destroyed and only a part of the floor remains. Camilliani painted it with three floors (highlighted by three rows of openings at different levels), presumably covered by a gabled roof with a chimney and closed to the south and north ends by two towers, the crenellated terraces of which were just over the roof. According to the Camillians’ watercolor, the village, located south-west under the tower, was made up of houses with roof tiles and was enclosed by walls directly connected to the castle.
The castle complex was supplied with water by an aqueduct with arches, represented by Camilliani and still partially preserved. The large tower has a rectangular base and a height of 20 meters, with walls eight feet thick. On the first floor on the north side opens the gateway, reached by a flight of stairs. The second floor on this side was lit by a single window with segmental arch. The eastern side, looking towards the mouth of the Roccella River, can be seen on the ground floor by two small windows. On the first floor there are two ogival windows, and a square window on the second.
Inside, the ground floor consists of a single rectangular room covered by a barrel vault reinforced by a central ogival arch. The Large Tower of Roccella reverts to the style of Norman antique donjons, but it has many characteristics similar to other castles of the 14th century such as those of Cefalà and Bonifato.
Himera, ruined ancient Greek city
In the area around Roccella, towards Bonfornello, we can visit the ruins of Himera, the Greek city destroyed in 409 BC by the Carthaginians. The foundation of the city, according to Diodorus[1st century BC], occurred 240 years before its destruction by the Carthaginians in 648 BC.
Here we can still see the "Temple of Victory" (fifth century BC), which has been carefully studied by specialists and according to whom it has similarities with the Temple of Athena at Syracuse; it was probably built in the years following the victory of Himera against the Carthaginians in 480 BC. The temple was erected near the places where the battle was held to commemorate the victory and to celebrate the alliance between Himera and Syracuse, and was probably dedicated to the goddess Athena. The temple is a 'Doric peripteral hexastyle' type with many columns and was once fitted with a great deal of sculptural decoration
One of the decorations is a lion's head sculpture that can be seen today in the Museum of the Antiquarium, which contains the most remarkable finds such as ornaments, vases, coins found in excavations of Himera and other sites in the territory of Sicily.
Roccella Beach and scenery
As well as cultural tourism it is of course the beach that is the main attraction at Roccella, and extends from the “Capo Plaja” to the mouth of the Imera River, for about twelve miles), and also the hinterland, rich in nature and mountains - it is also here in the countryside that the discerning tourist can discover the local food heritage, especially in the production of citrus fruits, tomatoes, artichokes, olives and vegetables, and in local specialties such as the biscuits of “San Martino”, the “Caponata” and stuffed “Pandoro.”
See also Roccella history and etymology. note: photo of Roccella is copyright.
See the the Sicily travel guide for more places to visit in the same region as Campofelice di Roccella.