Zocca | Genuine Modenese Apennine Charm

 

Zocca, a charming municipality in the Modenese Apennines located on a picturesque hillside at 759.0 meters above sea level in the province of Modena a short distance from the Bolognese territories, a proximity that has partially influenced this location in the cultural aspect although Zocca has maintained a strong local identity. 

Among pleasant hills and extensive chestnut woods in a jovial atmosphere in an uncontaminated territory, Zocca was already famous in  the Middle Ages representing a strategic crossroads for merchants and artisans who met in the center of the town where a "zoca" was located, or a chestnut stump that signaled that sort of meeting point that then gave rise to the name of the place.

Zocca is also a well-known place for being the birthplace of the singer-songwriter Vasco Rossi, its delicious chestnuts that produce the exquisite Marrone di Zocca, the Cunza, a typical pesto of the Modena area and for being above all home of the fragrant Crescentina, a local edible pride.

Once you are in the municipal terms of Zocca you will be delighted by the images of this area, created to surprise every visitor thanks to its sublime landscapes and a simply fascinating village, perched on a suggestive hill, a favorite destination for many photographers who wish to immortalize Zocca with numerous photos from different perspectives.

I suggest starting the visit from one of its hamlets in the proximity of the Via Porretana, Montetortore located between the Samoggia and Tanaro rivers where you can admire the remains of a castle dating back to the twelfth century and the Convento delle Braglie erected in 1500 surrounded by centuries-old chestnut groves and the suggestive birch forest.

Continuation with the picturesque village of Dragodena which preserves some tower buildings of the sixteenth century.

Continuation with Casa San Giacomo, a hospital from the 1100s that now houses the Chestnut Museum where you can dedicate a visit to discover the importance of this edible product that has given Zocca the nickname of Queen of the Chestnut.

Afterwards you can admire the architectural complex of the Fountain of 1500 and visiting Oratorio di San Rocco in the hamlet of Montecorone, erected after the epidemic of 1630 which is identified as one of the seventeenth-century buildings in vogue in the Modena Apennines built in sandstone blocks. 

The oratory has a small circular rose window placed in  a plastered façade with a portal and two large stone windows with a bas-relief with a polylobed cross located above the portal. The interior developed on a rectangular plan boasts a splendid marble altar and a niche containing the statue of San Rocco.

Continuation towards Rosola on the slopes of Mount Questiolo where there are the remains of the Castle of Montecuccoli, a place where in 1953 the remains of huts dating back to the age of Brozo were found.

In Rosola stands a thirteenth-century tower called Rangoni-Macchiavelli which was part of the disappeared Castello della Rosa,  a building that had as residents the Dukes Estensi, Lancillotto and Ettore Montecuccoli, largely destroyed by the Bolognese in 1271.

Rebuilt on various occasions, including by Machiavelli, this building is linked to a legend that an extraordinary treasure of pure gold coins was found in this place.

You can then reach the Santuario della Verrucchia which, with its stupendous presence, gives greater charm to this village linked to the miracle of the apparition of the Madonna in the seventeenth century.

Subsequently, in the hamlet of Montalbano, at the foot of Monte Riva, stands the Oratorio della Beata Vergine della Salute enlivened by a small portico in front of it, with a magnificently decorated portal on which we read: 1636,the date in which it was developed, flanked by two rectangular sandstone windows.

Passing through Montalbano you will discover a suggestive, small village with farms, farmhouses and period villas developed around the Church of Santa Maria Assunta dating back to the eighteenth century and the small eighteenth-century Votive Oratories of San Filippo Neri and the Beata Vergine del Rosario.

Of great historical and artistic importance is the Oratorio della Beata Vergine della Salute, enlivened by a small portico in front of it, with a magnificently decorated portal on which we read: 1636, the date in which it was developed, flanked by two rectangular sandstone windows.

The building in brick tiles has a small bell tower on the south side close to it. The rectangular interior is covered by splendid cross vaults and one of its highlights is a splendid masonry altar with an antependium.

Afterwards you can reach Missano, one of the oldest settlements in the area, already a parish church in 1214, next to the course of the Panaro river, there are the Colombaie Towers and a seventeenth-century courtyard called Cà Marinelli, on the slopes of Monte della Riva, covered entirely by chestnut woods.

You can continue the visit with the hamlet of Monteombraro where on a gentle hill stands the Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Salvatore of the 1400s with its imposing bell tower containing in its interior important stuccoes and paintings of the Bolognese school and an organ of the 1600s.

Also of interest are the eighteenth-century Collegio di San Carlo, the Fontanini farmhouse with a beautiful tower of the 1500s and a gigantic centuries-old oak linked to a legend that tells that it was often reached by the noble Matilda of Canossa to rest under it.

I also suggest entering in the attractive hamlet of Montecorone which, as the name suggests, is surrounded by a crown of mountains, located on the provincial road that leads to Vignola, cheered by the presence of the Sasso di Sant' Andrea, a spectacular sandstone monolith destination for climbers and tourists and by the healing sulphurous waters of a local spring.

Dominated by the Chiesa di Santa Giustina erected in 1271, this beautiful agglomeration boasts settlements such as Zocchetta Vecchia dating back to the thirteenth century with picturesque houses with sandstone decorations and Cà Barattini, a rural building of the 700 with a large courtyard containing the manor house flanked by an oratory and an old farmhouse.

In Zocca I suggest to visit a local artisan workshop producing Crescentina or Ticella Modenese although the original name of this fragrant delicacy is "Crescente".

This product dates back to the Middle Ages when the humble families of the place prepared this rustic specialty much appreciated by the feudal lords which was kept in pantries as a food reserve, tower wrappers in dried chestnut leaves and then in modern times integrated into the gastronomic offer of numerous typical trattorias including the constant presence in festivals and popular festivals.

Considered a variant of the Gnocco Fritto well rooted in other Emilian provinces, the previously indicated name "Tigella" derives from the handcrafted terracotta discs or clay taken from the chestnut woods and mixed with water and refractory materials and then passed into burning ashes in which the Crescentine called "Tigelle" were cooked, a name that still today creates parochial and local cultural contrasts.

The preparation consists of a mixture of soft wheat flour, brewer's yeast and water forming small balls or disks that can have a diameter between 10.0 and 15.0 centimeters adding fats, generally lard, olive oil or sunflower oil, baking soda sometimes in place of brewer's yeast transforming the Crescentina into a sort of unleavened starchy and at discretion adding fresh milk or cream.

Once cooked as per ancient tradition, the Crescentina is cut in half and subject to padding that includes the Cunza Modenese, pesto made with pork lard, rosemary, salt, garlic and Parmigiano Reggiano, in some filled with cheeses or cured meats such as cooked hams, raw hams, coppa, bacon and others.

In some gastronomic establishments the habit of using chocolate and jams arose, creating a sweet Tigella that generated quite a few discontent on the part of the local strenuous defenders of traditional culture, harshly criticizing this version invented for them, absolutely untrue and without any connection with the original for ingredients religiously used for centuries.

Time for your lunch, I recommend to stay in the traditional local gastronomy first courses to choose between Tortelloni stuffed with Ricotta or Tagliatelle with White Ragout of blackberry, among the second courses to choose Kobe Sliced Meat or Grilled Beef Fillet with a side of stewed seasonal vegetables.

A visit to Zocca is highly recommended for all those who wish to enter the splendid reality of the Modena Apennines, an area that offers many attractions and always conveys the desire to the tourist to return in the future.

Link : https://emiliaromagnaturismo.it/en/towns/zocca

Where to Stay | Recommended Accommodation

Antica Locanda la Canonica

Borgo Stanzano