L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano MARIELLA RADAELLI F or a new angle on Italy, ditch the car and try sailing off on the Ionian Sea along the coast off Rocca Impe- riale, a bijou-size borgo that just joined the club of the most beau- tiful villages of Il Bel Paese. A sojourn in Rocca Imperiale is particularly pleasant because it's not just a seaside resort but also a genuine old Calabrian s mall tow n high up on a panoramic promontory about 200 meters above sea level. With a population of 3,500, the village is the gate to Calabria on the Basilicata border, set amid beau- tiful rural Cosenza province, yet just a 50-minute drive from Mat- era, Basilicata. Rocca's steep winding streets lead to a massive medieval castle built by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in 1225. S peaking s ix languages (Latin, Sicilian, Old Germanic, Langues d'oil, Greek and Ara- bic) F rederick w as an avid patron of science and the arts who played a major role in pro- moting literature through the Sicilian School of poetry. And wherever he went, Frederick II left a trail of castles, included Rocca's imposing fortress. Within Rocca's appealing medieval center, small churches and chapels are dotted all around. On the main piazza, F ederico II, a mother church with its Romanesque bell tower stands in its simple splen- dor. "In the spring months, our cathedral hosts the painting of our patron saint the Madonna della Nova, which illustrates Mary's visitation to Elizabeth. It is a painting from the Baroque age that is very dear to us ," explains Vincenzo Di Matteo, a resident of Rocca Imperiale and local tour guide. "This sacred image freed us from the raid of the Turks in 1644." "We celebrate Our Lady of the Nova on July 2, when we bring the sacred painting in a chapel in the countryside of Rocca." The Second of July Fes- tival kicks off the summer sea- son with processions, concerts and fireworks. Rocca Imperiale is a grand fortified tow n important in Medieval times but now is also devoted to seaside fun. The Ion- ian Sea is a palette of blues rang- ing from nearly green and azure to indigo. The sandy beach sprinkled with pebbles more than five kilo- meters long is blissed defined. "Rocca is amazing for people who love tranquility, nature and escape from standard tourism. It is a small paradise," says Vin- cenzo. "Americans would love it here," he s ays . "They could catch s ome peace and quiet. They could relax on our beaches and smell the zagare (an exotic word originally passed from Ara- bic into Italian that translates as citrus blossom) in our lemon groves." The lemon of Rocca Imperi- ale is as succulent as that from Sorrento. It earned its own Pro- tected Geographical Indication recognition (IGP) and is sold on the mainland and exported to Northern Europe. Naturally, such fruit is not waxed, and if you finely pare or grate its skin, you will release its intensely lemony aromatic oils. "Our lemons are very rich in limonene that confers a sweet taste and intense scent," Vincen- zo says. A dish of pasta tossed with Rocca lemon zest, parsley, garlic and extra-virgin olive oil is heav- enly. So it is the local lemon cream cake. If you like eating lamb, the local restaurants will show you why it's a local favorite, while the frizzuli con la mollica is a typical primo piatto made with homemade pasta, fresh sausage sauce and pepper powder. In Rocca you can enjoy the exclu- sive specialties from Lucania. Several villagers emigrated to the Americas — away from the grinding poverty, brigandage and widespread malaria that were prevalent in the past. In better times another Rocch- es e, D on Tonino F ortunato, moved to the US. "He has been living there for decades. As a M ercedarian pries t, he w as assigned to a parish in Philadel- phia," says Vincenzo. There's a "novel w orthy" story behind every person with the small village of Rocca Impe- riale, a sort of book town. Il F edericiano, an annual poetry contest named in honor of the Holy Roman Emperor Fred- erick II, celebrates life in Rocca Imperiale. The tenth edition will take place at the end of August, run by Alietti publishing with entries about any aspect of life accepted. Renowned writers and lyricists such as Dacia Maraini, A les s andro Q uas imodo and Mogol contributed to previous editions. "The winning poem will be featured on a ceramic tile to dec- orate the façade of a house in the old town, which already has some 40 houses beautified with a poem," Vincenzo says. The movie industry has also been fascinated with Rocca. Pupi Avati directed his Le Nozze di Laura here and als o Totò's movie Destinazione Piovarolo was partly set in Rocca Imperi- ale. In 1931 M aurits Cornelis Escher, an artistic genius who created some of the most memo- rable images of the 20th century, made two prints depicting the monastery of the Franciscan fri- ars minor that today hos ts a weird wax museum owned by Professor Giuseppe Tufaro. This s trange but w onderful place makes you travel through time. Constantly updated, it has repre- sentations of the most prominent figures of the last two centuries. This area of Calabria, on the Basilicata border, is an undiscov- ered delight with heaps to see and do. Within Rocca's appealing medieval centre, small churches and chapels are dotted around. Photo credit: VINCENZO DI MATTEO Rocca Imperiale, the scent of lemons at sea Our Lady of Nova, celebrated on the 2nd of July, is the town's main feast. Photo credit: VINCENZO DI MATTEO ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES

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