Rocchetta Mattei is a fortress located on the Northern Apennine Mountains, on a hill which is 407 meters above sea level, in the locality of Savignano in the municipality of Grizzana Morandi, on the Strada Statale 64 Porrettana, in the Metropolitan City of Bologna.
Built in the second half of nineteenth century, it blends various eclectic styles, from Medieval to Moorish.
Rocchetta Mattei was the home of count Cesare Mattei, a scholar, politician and self-taught physician who founded electrohomeopathy, a practice founded on homeopathy.
On November 5, 1850, the first stone of Rocchetta Mattei was laid, and as early as 1859 it became habitable and eventually Cesare Mattei’s permanent residence. Inside Rocchetta Mattei, the count led a life as a medieval castellan and even created a court, complete with a buffoon. [1]
The castle hosted illustrious individuals who came from everywhere to undergo Mattei's treatment, including Ludwig III of Bavaria and Alexander II of Russia. In 1925, there was an official visit by the Prince of Piedmont. Even Fyodor Dostoevsky quotes the Count in The Brothers Karamazov , when he tells the devil he managed to recover from terrible rheumatism thanks to a book and some drops from Count Mattei. [2]
During World War II, German troops damaged the interior of the building. When the conflict was over, the last heir, Iris Boriani, was unable to sell the building, and offered it free to the Municipality of Bologna, but they did not accept the donation.
In 1959, Rocchetta Mattei was purchased by Primo Stefanelli. He transformed one of the smaller buildings, already used as a hunting pavilion, into a cozy hotel with an adjoining restaurant. The restaurant accessed an adjacent shady park, creating an oasis of peace and serenity.
Stefanelli wanted to repair the damage and restore the castle to its original condition and make it a prime tourist destination.
In 1989, Stefanelli died and the situation deteriorated; due to various problems, Rocchetta Mattei was definitively closed to the public.
In 1997, a committee was created for the preservation of the castle which, in the face of total abandonment by the owners and government institutions, seemed destined to ruin. Many initiatives were launched, such as a human chain around Rocchetta Mattei and conferences and debates, which were very successful.
In 2000, a museum was established about Count Cesare Mattei, the Rocchetta Mattei, and electrohomeopathy on Via Nazionale 117 in Riola di Vergato, seat of the Committee "Archivio Museo Cesare Mattei". It continues in the present day collecting historical things relating to the life of Count Cesare Mattei.
In 2006, the foundation of Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna officially announced the acquisition of Rocchetta Mattei, restored it, which ultimately led to the reopening to the public on August 9, 2015. [3]
The set of buildings that make up the present castle was located on a medieval complex, which belonged to the emperors Frederick I and Otto IV and the domain of Matilda of Tuscany, who held a vassal, Lanfranco da Savignano, as guardian. The need to defend the passage on the Rhine made this castle precious to the rulers of the time. Having fallen into the hands of the Bolognese, and created a more advanced defensive line, the fortress became useless and was destroyed in 1293.
Before choosing Savignano for its castle, it seems that Cesare Mattei had visited several places. The place was preferred for many reasons: the ease of access, the rock forming a gigantic natural pedestal, and the location on the confluence of the rivers Limentra orientale and Reno. The predominant style of the building is Moorish, with additional medieval and modern Italian architecture.
The main entrance opens onto a branch of highway 64. An inscription at the top commemorates the origin and completion of the building with the following words:
Il Conte Cesare Mattei - sopra le rovine di antica rocca - edificò questo castello dove visse XXV anni - benefico ai poveri - assiduamente studioso - delle virtù mediche dell'erbe - per la qual scienza ebbe nome in Europa - ed era cercato dagli infermi il suo soccorso - Mario Venturoli Mattei - compié l'edificio - e secondo il voto di lui - nel X anno dalla morte - ne portò qui le ceneri - con amore e riconoscenza di figlio - il III Aprile MCMVI
Translation: Count Cesare Mattei - above the ruins of an ancient fortress - built this castle where he lived for twenty-five years - charitable to the poor – an assiduous scholar - of the medical virtues of herbs - for which science was named in Europe - and was sought by the sick for his help - Mario Venturoli Mattei - completed the building - and according to his wishes – 10 years from his death - his ashes were brought here - with love and gratitude as a son - the 3 April 1906
A large and spacious staircase leads to the vestibule of the main living area. A hippogriff is guarding the entrance, through which one passes into a courtyard dug into the rock. Two caryatids support the jamb of the front door. The monolith basin that occupies the center comes from the parish church of Verzuno where it served as a baptismal font. Entering the courtyard, in the left corner, Cesare Mattei laid the first stone of the building in November 5, 1850, in the presence of a few friends.
From the same side, a door leads to a ladder and then to the magnificent loggia known as the Loggia Carolina built in oriental style. The staircase of the tower leads through a drawbridge to a small room with small windows and a stalactite ceiling, which was the bedroom of Count Cesare Mattei. Here, the original furniture and pipes owned by the count are still preserved. There is also the ‘Vision’s Staircase’ (Scala delle visioni) which is allegorical depiction in the vault representing the new homeopathic science winning over traditional medicine. Two couplets from the Latinist abbot Giordan, Nicoise, friend of Mattei and guest in Rocchetta Mattei, celebrate the victory:
"Finxerat. Haec. Deus. Huc Immissa. Light. Superne Signavitque. Umbras. Lumine. Ducta. Manus Hisce. Nova. Ex. Herbis. Mundo. Medicine. Paratur Hinc. Vetus. She. Fugit. Victima. Strata. Jacet."
The staircase leads to a room on the top of the main tower. Returning to the Loggia Carolina is the White Room and the Turkish Room. After a short stretch of uncovered rock, there is the Courtyard of the Lions, a reproduction of the courtyard of the Alhambra in Granada. The remains of Cesare Mattei are found inside an ark covered with majolica.
Going back from the Courtyard of the Lions one enters the hall of peace, named so in homage to the victorious end of the Great War. Next is the hall of music in the church, a reproduction of the cathedral of Cordoba. Next to the church is the Room of the Ninety, so called because the Count Mattei wanted to keep a banquet of old nonagenarians when he reached this age. He died before his time without having seen the finished room, which was finished by his adopted son Mario Venturoli Mattei. When one exits the park there is an elegant stone staircase that leads to the Porrettana Railway. Various small structures once used as service rooms are now converted into villas, which crown the main building.
The Doge's Palace is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Republic. It was built in 1340 and extended and modified in the following centuries. It became a museum in 1923 and is one of the 11 museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia.
The Quirinal Palace is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the President of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporziano, an estate on the outskirts of Rome, some 25 km from the centre of the city. It is located on the Quirinal Hill, the highest of the seven hills of Rome in an area colloquially called Monte Cavallo. It has served as the residence for thirty Popes, four Kings of Italy and twelve Presidents of the Italian Republic.
The Villa Farnese, also known as Villa Caprarola, is a pentagonal mansion in the town of Caprarola in the province of Viterbo, Northern Lazio, Italy, approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-west of Rome. This villa should not be confused with the Palazzo Farnese and the Villa Farnesina, both in Rome. A property of the Republic of Italy, Villa Farnese is run by the Polo Museale del Lazio.
Ca' Foscari, the palace of the Foscari family, is a Gothic building on the waterfront of the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro sestiere of Venice, Italy.
Iglesias is a comune and city in the province of South Sardinia, Italy. It was co-capital of the province of Carbonia-Iglesias with Carbonia, and the province's second-largest community.
The Castello Sforzesco is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later renovated and enlarged, in the 16th and 17th centuries it was one of the largest citadels in Europe. Extensively rebuilt by Luca Beltrami in 1891–1905, it now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.
Gino Cervi was an Italian actor.
Carini is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, 19 kilometres (12 mi) by rail west-northwest of Palermo. It has a population of 37,752.
Issogne Castle is a castle in Issogne, in lower Aosta Valley, in northwestern Italy. It is one of the most famous manors of the region, and is located on the right bank of the Dora Baltea at the centre of the inhabited area of Issogne. As a seigniorial residence of the Renaissance, the Castle has quite a different look from that of the austere Verrès Castle, which is located in Verrès, on the opposite bank of the river.
Castel Nuovo, often called Maschio Angioino, is a medieval castle located in front of Piazza Municipio and the city hall in central Naples, Campania, Italy. Its scenic location and imposing size makes the castle, first erected in 1279, one of the main architectural landmarks of the city. It was a royal seat for kings of Naples, Aragon and Spain until 1815.
The Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna is a public tertiary academy of fine art in Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy. It has a campus in Cesena.
Giorgio Morandi was an Italian painter and printmaker who specialized in still life. His paintings are noted for their tonal subtlety in depicting apparently simple subjects, which were limited mainly to vases, bottles, bowls, flowers and landscapes.
The architecture of Puerto Rico demonstrates a broad variety of architectural styles and built forms over the country's history of over four centuries of former Spanish rule, and over a century of American rule. Puerto Rico's architecture is as diverse as its multicultural society and has been shaped by many internal and external factors and regional distinctions.
The Trinci Palace is a patrician residence in the center of Foligno, central Italy. It houses an archaeological museum, the city's picture gallery, a multimedia museum of Tournaments and Jousts and the Civic Museum.
Electrohomoeopathy is a derivative of homeopathy invented in the 19th century by Count Cesare Mattei. The name is derived from a combination of electro and homeopathy. Electrohomeopathy has been defined as the combination of electrical devices and homeopathy.
Verrès Castle is a fortified 14th-century castle in Verrès, in the lower Aosta Valley, in north-western Italy. It has been called one of the most impressive buildings from the Middle Ages in the area. Built as a military fortress by Yblet de Challant in the fourteenth century, it was one of the first examples of a castle constructed as a single structure rather than as a series of buildings enclosed in a circuit wall.
The castle stands on a rocky promontory on the opposite side of the Dora Baltea from Issogne Castle. The castle dominates the town of Verrès and the access to the Val d'Ayas. From the outside it looks like an austere cube, thirty metres long on each side and practically free of decorative elements.
The Archiginnasio of Bologna is one of the most important buildings in the city of Bologna; once the main building of the University of Bologna, it currently houses the Archiginnasio Municipal Library and the Anatomical Theatre.
The Town hall of Mirandola is a historic public building located in the city center of Mirandola, in the province of Modena, Italy.
The Castello Normanno-Svevo is a Normans' castle located in the historic center of Gioia del Colle. Since December 2014, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities has managed the entire castle through the Polo Museale della Puglia, which, in December 2019, became the Direzione Regionale Musei.
Villa Pliniana is a villa originally built in 1573, on the site of a more modest pre-existing building, in the territory of the municipality of Torno, in the province of Como, on the right bank of the western branch of Lake Como.
![]() | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rocchetta Mattei . |
Coordinates: 44°13′25″N11°03′36″E / 44.223633°N 11.059922°E