A diminutive of “rocca”, a common place name in the 14th century meaning “fortress on top of the mountain”. This hill castle on the ancient Via Casciana stands on a small hill overlooking the Tissino Valley.

Rocchetta has a particularly interesting layout due to the relationship between the road, the various parts of the settlement and the religious buildings. In fact, near the ancient road stands the isolated, Romanesque church of San Nicola (nowadays joined to the cemetery). Further south on the high ground the later castle (which includes a new church, since the first could not be used during a siege as it remained outside the walls) culminates in a tower (of which only the foundations remain), an extreme bastion of defence and point of reference for every military action.

Towards the east below the castle lies a little village around the church of Santa Maria del Verde along the old pathway of the ancient Via Casciana at the foot of the mountain.