Sasso di Rocca-Faro dei Caduti

For those who come to Gaggio Montano, climbing to the top of the lighthouse is an "obligatory" stop. The climb is challenging because the stone steps are not uniform and the risers of each step are high. Also, the staircase is narrow, and if you come across someone going in the opposite direction, you have to be careful. However, once you arrive, you can enjoy a unique view, you can wander across the valley. There are also benches that allow you to rest. The ancient stone tower is also very fascinating.

The Sasso di Rocca and the Lighthouse of the Fallen On the historic "Sasso", towards the end of 1200, the Bolognese Senate had a "Rocca" built, which was demolished three centuries after its construction. At that time the commoners built a very modest construction on its summit, which served as a shelter for a mechanical clock, which for centuries spread the signal of the hours and the quarters of quarters to the whole valley. In the construction there was placed the bell of the Municipality in manual operation, which is said to have been modeled by the great Bolognese master, the Gianbologna. The emblem of the Tanari family is reproduced on the bell. The tiny building, the little clock house on the Sasso di Rocca, had a long life, was demolished in 1952 and replaced in the same year by a modern building with lookout and lighthouse, dedicated to the Fallen of the Mountain. The bell tower of the Sasso di Rocca, Silvia Rubini (for all the Ersilia) lived at the Poggio, a stone's throw from the church and close to the Sasso. His public commitment was to keep Sasso's mechanical watch running. By mutual agreement with the villagers, the "Campanara" assumed the task of playing the midday: a service that required the manual and rhythmic draft of the bell strings. The hour of the imminent noon, at least in the first decades of the 1900s, in Ersilia, was given by the sundial imprinted on the facade of the church and in the days of cloudiness, rain or snow, a set of other natural signals that the person concerned was designed and made its own. Then, in the family, they bought her an alarm clock, the ones with a large dial and with a bell and then Campanara felt important, a lady. She always had to climb the hundred steps marked in the rock every day to reach the summit, whatever the weather; but the inconvenience was part of the duty. Even when, especially in the summer, black clouds swirled in the sky and the weather turned ugly, the Ersilia climbed the Sasso and gave it to the bell, sent slow, imploring, almost prayer chimes through the dark air. Yes, because the sound of the Rocca bell is delegated by tradition, it has the power to keep the storm at bay. "A fulgure et tempestate libera nos Domine" shows the scuffed writing in relief in the upper part of the bell. At that signal the peasants hurried to pile up the sheaves, to pile up the hay; the women solicited hens and chicks for porches and chicken coops and the boys hurried back with their cattle from the pastures: in bad weather the Campanara was not wrong. Even in the case of fires and calamities in general, the first person to be informed was Ersilia, who then from the top of the Sasso extended the announcement: a particular sound that went far with the voice of sad events. And people inquired and ran to help. For San Giovanni, June 24, (the bell of the Sasso is dedicated to San Giovanni) the Ersilia, with the sun already set, went up to the Sasso and remained there until midnight. And he played, the so-called "joys" sounded at a festive rhythm. To keep her company, the boys thought about it, to whom, and only on that occasion, they were allowed to get their hands on the rope of the Rocca bell. After the threshing, the Campanara made the rounds of the houses for the "cultured" and if the harvest was satisfactory they were reserved numerous "pasties" of blond wheat. And since the sack soon became heavy, there was always some man who undertook to deliver it to Poggio. The Ersilia continued its pleasant going with borrowed sack. The tour of the country and the countryside involved a fortnight; an appointment expected by families and for Campanara a go to collect the annual salary, for the many services rendered by the Alto del Sasso and not covered by the administrative contract. Taken from the book "Gaggio Montano between history and memory" by Calista Tomasi.

From the Gaggio Lighthouse there is a beautiful view of the Apennines and the surrounding mountains :))

The higher one rises, the further one sees. The farther he sees, the longer he dreams.

excellent vantage point of the entire upper Rhine river valley