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CulturalHeritageOnline: Rocca Minor

Rocca Minor


It stands on the hill to the right of the Rocca Maggiore to which it was once connected by passable walls. Compared to the Rocca Maggiore, however, it is more recent.

It is also known by the name of Rocchicciola, or Cassero di Sant’Antonio, from the name of the brotherhood of Sant’Antonio and San Giacomo which is located near the Capuchin gate under the fortress itself.

The two fortresses dominate Assisi from above and are connected by a long wall, under which there is a secret path.

The Rocca, or rather the fortresses, the Major and the Minor with the fourteenth-century walls that rise sinuously to join them, are admirable examples of military architecture, in themselves and for the scenographic effect that one has going up, as well as for the splendid view that can be enjoyed from the top of the keep.

About the Rocca Maggiore, built on the remains of a Roman citadel or perhaps a pagan place of worship, we have news starting from 1173/74 and it seems that Frederick Barbarossa and Frederick II as a child also stayed there.

Destroyed in 1198, during a popular uprising, in 1356 Cardinal Albornoz took care to have it rebuilt for the pope's benefit on the original layout: a trapezoidal enclosure with corner towers and a keep with a high square tower of the keep.

In 1360 the Rocca Minore was added to defend the north-eastern corner of the walls towards the mountain. Finally, in 1459/60, at the time of Pius II, the polygonal tower to the north-west was raised, connected to the Rocca Maggiore by a fortified corridor.

The visit to the interior of the Rocca Maggiore is interesting, although one can only fantasize about the series of secret passages handed down by legend, and the view from the open top of the keep, over the city and the Umbrian Valley is magnificent.



Rocca Minor
Address: Via Renzo Rosati, 99, 06081
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Location inserted by Cristian Porretta

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