Il castello-palazzo della ‘Rocca’ dei Valdina nella Sicilia orientale

In 1623, Pietro Valdina, Marquis of Rocca, acquired the right to add his name to the fief of Rocca, which he transformed into Roccavaldina. Documents from the early 14th and 15th centuries show the evolution of the toponym from ‘Casale del Conte’ or ‘La Rocca’, until its transformation into ‘Roccavaldina’ in the 17th century with the addition of the surname of the then dominant family. The ancient casale, in the Peloritani mountains, is characterised by the presence of a fortified structure defending the eastern Sicilian coast, destined as the residence of the feudal family between the 16th and 17th centuries. The building overlooks the hills sloping towards the Milazzo plain. The origins and evolution of the building are almost unknown. The original floor plan consists of a quadrangular structure enclosed, on the main façade, by two circular towers and later transformed into a residence, with linguistic features distinctly linked to late Renaissance and Baroque culture. At the end of the 16th century, the Lords of Rocca were thinking of transforming the primitive fortified nucleus, creating a residence suited to the new family needs. A rectangular building, added to the previous one and flanked by other rooms, juts out from the western elevation. This addition was added to the older nucleus, defining a quadrangular courtyard that on three sides leans against the pre-existing buildings and is closed by a loggia onto which the new rooms open. Historiography indicates the artists Camillo Camilliani (16th century-1603) and Jacopo del Duca (1520-1604), of whom there is no documentary evidence, as the possible authors of the linguistic transformation that, having surpassed the main façade with its canonical medieval features, gave the building a refined and unexpected appearance.