Zocca is a small mountain village south of Modena established in an ancient area rich in hills and mountains on which once stood many castles (Monteombraro, Montecorone, Montetortore, Montalbano, Monte Questiolo, Rosola, etc.), and it was the theatre of several medieval battles between Modena and Bologna, given its geographical position.
Certainly not only because it gave birth to the great Vasco Rossi, an Italian singer-songwriter who, with over 33 albums to his credit, has indelibly marked the history of Italian music, and the true lovers of Italian rock music often wait to see him near his home, where he frequently returns.
The small hamlets of Zocca have medieval castles and fortresses that make Zocca part of the Union Terre di Castelli. Of particular interest:
Montalbano - ancient village with the charm of the ancient fortress, made of ups and downs and alleys on which stands the bell tower of the 1600s.
Montecorone - a medieval layout of remarkable beauty, it is distinguished by stone buildings decorated with sandstone portals and arched pointed windows and the seventeenth-century oratory of San Rocco. Of great historical-landscape interest is the sixteenth-century settlement of the old Zocchetta.
On the ancient area of the castle stands the parish church of Monteombraro, of the late fourteenth century, which has valuable stucco decorations, and a prized Traeri organ from the seventeenth century.
The castle settlement of Montetortore is one of the oldest in the area. Currently it is still possible to admire the castle complex consisting of the remains of the two-fourteenth-century towers, the bell tower, the recent total restoration of the church of S. Geminiano and the rectory.
The town of Rosola preserves the majestic tower of the thirteenth-century castle, which is one of the oldest and finest examples of a fortified construction. Of great interest is also the nearby castle settlement of Montequestiolo.
In Ciano the church of S. Lorenzo that dates back to the early twentieth century is worth mentioning: noteworthy is its recently restored Rieger organ. Of some interest are the rural nucleus with eighteenth-century oratory called "The woods" and the ruins of the castle walls and an oratory in the little town of "Castellaccio".
At the foot of Monte della Riva stands the town of Missano which has features of great interest including a building with a dovecote tower, architraves with towers and sandstone decorations. Also worthy of note is the settlement of Cà Marinelli, a seventeenth-century closed court, the oratories of St. Augustine, the Annunciation and that of Montevecchio, known as della Riva.
Zocca is known for the famous crescentina (or tigella), originally cooked in the fireplace with a chestnut leaf, which you can taste in the premises of the main street of the town.
The tigella is a terracotta product to be heated between the embers and where the crescenta is cooked by stacking 1 tigella, 1 leaf, 1 crescenta, 1 leaf, 1 tigella etc.
It is also home to the "Compagnia della cunza" with the adjoining Borlengo Museum, a typical local specialty. In the autumn season Zocca becomes the "Queen of the Chestnut", thanks to this typical nut of the area, along with the Zocca Chestnut variety.
Esploraria is an adventure park suitable for young and old in the territory of Zocca. Exercise, discovery and adventure for the whole family.
