Italy		Landmarks		Lodging		Search
Landmarks in Italy : Landmarks in Umbria : Province Perugia : Assisi, Rocca Maggiore,

Rocca Maggiore Assisi (PG), Umbria, Italy Period of construction: 11th century Features: rises on a hilltop surrounded by a high defense wall, with a tower in the centre. From the top which can be reached by a flight of steps the visitor can admire all the beauty and peacefulness of the Umbrian landscape with the town of Assisi and the Basilica of St. Francis in the distance. Visiting hours: every day except on Mondays, from 10 am to sunset

HISTORY: Documented for the first time in 1174, the Rocca had been erected as a feudal castle. Frederick of Swabia, that was to become emperor Frederick II, was christened in Assisi at the age of three in 1197 and passed several years of his childhood in this castle, under the tutorship of Conrad of Lützen. A year later, in 1198, the inhabitants of Assisi destroyed the fortress during an independence uprising. Only in 1367 Cardinal Albornoz rebuilt the fortress, as a defence outpost for Assisi, to which the castle belonged in the following centuries. In 1485 the ruler of the town of that period ordered the construction of the 12-sided tower and the long connection wall; then in 1535-38 Pope Paul III ordered the construction of the circular tower near the entrance.

The town of Assisi Hotels in Umbria

copyright italyworldclub - all rights reserved