ROCCA GRIMALDA

HISTORY

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The old populations who lived here before the Romans, the so-called Ligures, left a number of traces in many places of Orba valley but especially in Rocca Grimalda: the river has always had gold in its sand and during the Roman times, a town was built in the plain under the hill in order to exploit this resource: old documents report about this centre, called Rondinaria, which was a wealthy little town in the middle of thick forests and had likely some sort of defence structure, probably on Rocca Grimalda's hill, which still dominates the whole plain around and the valley’s entrance.

Right in the plain an old necropolis was found in the 1980s but on the other side of the village’s land another high rocky hill was found to have been shaped as some sort of castle with a deep ditch and high palisades, probably from the Longobard time: the same place, called “Trionzo”, was linked with old legends of witches, dances and evil spirits.

The village’s existence was first stated in some documents of 900 and since then Rocca Grimalda changed a number of landlords while conquerors came from the see and from the plains: the powerful Republic of Genoa, the free town of Alessandria, the dukedoms of Monferrato and Milan fought for centuries in order to have the control of this strategic stronghold.

But Rocca Grimalda’s real rulers were the bandit families from the beginning of 1700 until 1800: they used the thick forests around the village to hide and rob the passers by. Rocca Grimalda got famous for its guns and long knives while no landlord managed to control them, also because they had strong support from people, traditionally against the official rulers coming from other places. During the 18th century everything changed, the forest was replaced by vineyards, only some little pieces survived as parks of noble mansions.

In 1736 Rocca Grimalda became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia and it shared the history of Piedmont under the Savoia’s crown.

During the II World War many young men from the village died in war, many others run to the mountains and fought against the Fascists and the Germans occupying the country: they had to face hard defeates and massacres but they finally managed to set the region free before the arrival of the American and English Armies.

After the War many inhabitants moved to big cities like Genoa, Milan, Turin and many others in other countries and continents, looking for the wealthy that country life couldn’t give them: they abandoned their own vineyards, their little old houses in the centre of the village but not the links with their own past and relatives. A lot of them use to come back together with the new generations during summer, when the village is animated again.

From the 1990s the village is living a new renaissance, both I economy and in society, basing its own wealthy on great wines, as “Dolcetto di Ovada” and “Barbera del Monferrato”, tasty food and historical places, which attract tourists from all over the world.