header

La Roccelletta

La Roccelletta di Borgia
By Domenico Russumanno

The imposing ruins that stand among the olive grove, between State Highway 106 and the State Highway (strade statali) for  Borgia near the entrance to the archeological park (Scolacium) belong to the church of Santa Maria della Roccella commonly called Roccelletta.

 
The brick building is roofless and is composed of three parts: an extremely long single nave, a transept and an apse. 


 
The architecture of the building seems to be of Cluniac origin but it also reveals Byzantine influences in the decorative motifs. It is generally thought to date back to the 11th century, although there is some controversy on this point. 

 
(The term "Roccelletta", from which the place takes its name, first appears in documents dated 1096 to 1110 mentioning a "monasterio Beatae Mariae de Rokella" that may have originally been a basilian complex ).
 


From  1060, after the conquest of the castle of Squillace, the whole  of Calabria was in the hands of the Norman.


Later remodeling has badly spoiled the facade with the addition of the large oculus (round window).
 
 
The upper section of the walls reused Greek and Roman building materials, with a technique that sets it apart from the rest of the church.
 

The structure was erected on the ruins of the forgotten ancient city of Scolacium in several stages of construction.
The building is in Western Romanesque style but still shows some Byzantine influence.

The decoration outside the apse has also been radically redone. 
The church was designed with a single large nave ( 73 x 25 metres ) which was covered with wooden trusses and lit by five windows on each side.

This flanked by two narrow side aisles and led to the great arch that set off the elevated transept. 

 
 
The transept was covered by a series of crossed vaults broader then the nave, allowing it to take in the stairs leading to the top. 
 

 
From the transept, broad steps led to three apses. Under the presbytery lies the crypt, again covered by crossed vaults.

Over the centuries the complex was used for many purposes, from a fortress to pens for animals in the second half of the 19th century and as a quarry for building materials in the first years of the 12th century.


 
To the history of the Norman church there is linked a wall aedicula decorated by bas-relief with the Madonna Odighitria ("who shows the way"), signed by Michele Barillari in 1852.
 

This piece was originally  part of a fountain constructed in 1847, for the wayfarers who went into the Casini della Roccelletta, a fortified area designed in 1779 as the summer residence of the bishops of the diocese, which was meant to contain dwellings, a courtyard and a church.  

It  was abandoned after the earthquake of 1783 before being finished and reconstructed in the middle of the 19th century,thanks to Bishop Pasquini who had built, inside the Casini Della Roccelletta, a church, a colonnaded edifice and some small houses.​

 

Renato Zavaglia
Archivi per i beni culturali








 
Nearby 
 
Squillacium - Scylletium  was an ancient seaside city  in the comune of Borgia, near Catanzaro. 
According to legends, it was founded by an Athenian colony, a part of the followers who had accompanied Menestheus to the Trojan War. Another tradition was, however, extant, which ascribed its foundation to Ulysses.


 
Catanzaro Lido 



Catanzaro



Copanello



Squillace



Soverato

View of Copanello



A new morning in the medieval town of Squillace as seen from the nearby town of Vallefiorita.

Catanzaro  Lido ( Catanzaro Marina)

First Name
Last Name
Email Address
Tel
Country
Comments

Where to stay
Excursions
Shopping

CERCASI ALLOGGI DI QUALITA'

B & B
Farm House - Masserie / Agriturismo
Hotel
Resort
Room for rent - Affittacamere
Apartment for rent - Appartamenti
Houses for rent - Case in affitto


MAX  : CINQUE ESERCIZI PER OGNI CATEGORIA.

CONTATTI  tramite il modulo soprastante.

Guide Turistiche - Accompagnatore Turistico

CONOSCENZA DELLA LINGUA INGLESE 

 centri storici - aree archeologiche -  musei, città d’arte .

CONTATTI  tramite il modulo soprastante.

PRODOTTI LOCALI

SOUVENIR

MADE IN ITALY

Contattateci tramite il modulo soprastante.
 
 
Ai  nostri  visitatori piace il Sud Italia, vuoi  dire loro qualcosa?
Il nostro obiettivo e' quello di promuovere prodotti tipici del Sud in un contesto di marketing globale, e allo stesso tempo proporre 
il nostro Meridione come alternativa turistica, ben consapevoli che il successo dell'uno è essenziale per il successo dell'altro.​

Paesi di provenienza dei  visitatori in ordine numerico
Stati Uniti - Canada - Italia - Gran Bretagna - Australia - China - Germania - Francia - Nuova Zelanda - Olanda

Coloro interessati ad inserire la loro attivita'/azienda/ nel sito   
sono pregati di  mettersi in contatto  usando il  modulo sottostante .
Per saperne di piu'...

 
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO?...suggested links..
HOME  
Top of the page
Abruzzo
Molise
Campania
Basilicata
Apulia
Calabria
Sicilia
Sardegna
Badolato
Squillace

Skyllétion Parco Archeologico
POI Catanzaro province
 Sila Grande and Sila Greca
Sibari Plan
​Gulf of Squillace & Sila
​From Sea to Sea
The Aspromonte
The coast & beaches

 

Made in South Italy Today.com-2014-Hamilton-Ontario-Canada ||||||||   CMS by AlboDigital  |||||||| Copyrights issues

 
spacer