The castle was built in 1850 by Count Cesare Mattei on the ruins of an ancient castle with annexed church and cemetery dating back to 1200.
During his life the Count modified the structure several times making it a labyrinthine maze of rooms with colorful styles, towers and stairs.
In his castle he dedicated himself to the study of Homeopathy and Medicine, elaborating a new medical science that he called Electrohomeopathy, based on the combination of homeopathic-like granules with 5 electrical liquids to restore the correct balance of the body’s electrical charges and bring it back to neutrality. The principles were extracted from medicinal plants and worked with a secret methodology, and just the methodology gave to the simple elements their therapeutic efficacy.
Although opposed by the official medicine, he began to produce his remedies exporting them abroad with great success even at the European courts.
In 1896 the castle passed to his adopted son Mario Venturoli Mattei who lived in it (and also modified it) until 1956, when, due to difficulties in maintaining it during the war years, it was sold to Primo Stefanelli, a merchant from Vergato (known as the Mercantone). Previously, however, not being able to find a buyer, it had been offered free of charge to the Municipality of Bologna, which, engaged in post-war reconstruction, had refused it.
In 1986 the castle was closed because there were not the necessary security conditions for the access by visitors and until 2005 it remained in total abandonment.
In October 2005, the castle was purchased by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna, which undertook complex restoration works that returned the south-west wing of the complex to the Apennines and its visitors: the clock tower, the square tower, the round tower and the lantern tower with its large Moorish dome.
The Archive-Museum of Count Mattei is currently located in the Fienili del Campiaro (Loc. Campiaro n.112, Grizzana Morandi). It contains innumerable documents and artifacts concerning the Count, the Rocchetta and the Electromeopathy. It turns out to be the first and only museum on Electromeopathic medicine in the world.
Thanks to the agreement between the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna and the Municipality of Grizzana Morandi, in synergy with the Unione Comuni Appennino Bolognese and the Metropolitan City of Bologna, and with the precious collaboration of the local Associations, the Rocchetta Mattei reopened to the public on August 9, 2015.
Beautiful is the staircase of the Tower that, through a Drawbridge leads to the room that was the Count’s bedroom, with its original furniture. And then there is the staircase of visions with allegorical images to represent the new homeopathic science winning over the old medicine. But those are just two of the surprises of a building that is all worth seeing.
