cookieless, no-ads, no threats canyon exploring with
Michele Angileri

Fosso di Rocchettine

To reach the Tiber Valley, the Aia (or Imella) stream makes its way through the southernmost portion of Mount Cosce, where it has carved a gorge with slopes covered in holm oak woods and Mediterranean bush. Here, on the rocky hills bordered by the gorges of Aia and its tributaries, two fortresses were built in the 13th century (perhaps earlier): Rocca Bertalda and Rocca Guidonesca, today known respectively as Rocchette and Rocchettine.
The two fortresses are very close (200 meters as the crow flies), separated by the Aia Gorge and by an inexplicably different destiny: the Bertalda became the present-day village of Rocchette (a fraction of Torri in Sabina municipality), while the Guidonesca was gradually abandoned.

Nowadays, the Rocchettine fortress appears well-preserved on the outside, while the buildings inside the castle have collapsed or are unsafe, all except the church (restored in the 18th century and still in use today). You see the splendid Mediterranean landscape of this corner of Sabina alla around, and hear the sound of the waters flowing through the Aia gorge, which has no canyoning interest. But the other side of the hill is delimited by another gorge, smaller and tighter, usually dry, featuring a couple of nice falls ...

I remember ...

I reserve the exploration of streams like this as a way to complement a day spent elsewhere and/or with other activities, or as a fallback if the day's destination has proven impracticable or uninteresting. Or if I'm very tired and wake up very late and the days are very short...
This is to say that even a stream like Fosso di Rocchettine can make a day that otherwise wouldn't be rewarding.

Copyright © 2002- Michele Angileri. All rights reserved.