Rociu

Rociu is a commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Gliganu de Jos, Gliganu de Sus, Rociu, and Șerbănești.

The oldest relics come from the Bronze Age, from Șerbănești village.^[3] Then, much later, the village Gliganu is mentioned, on June 12, 1564. The village belonged to a boyar from Rucăr. According to the same source, all four villages are mentioned after 1830. In the Communist period, the commune received a strong impulse for economic growth: A 25 km (16 mi) long irrigation canal was built to drain water from the Argeș River.^[4] Rociu received special attention because a farm of the Communist Party was built there.

Rociu is situated in the southern part of Argeș County, in the Găvanu-Burdea plains.^[5] It is situated 25 to 30 kilometres (16 to 19 mi) from the county seat, Pitești. The average altitude is 240 m (790 ft).

There are 4 villages: Rociu, Gliganu de Jos, Gliganu de Sus, and Șerbănești.

The Găvanu-Burdea plain is a flat region, with large and fertile valleys.^[10] Rociu is situated close to the Dâmbovnic River (sometimes called Drâmbovnic). There are a few smaller rivers that are dry in summer, such the Mozacu River and the Gliganu River. There are many small lakes, used for fishing.^[11]

According to the 2002 census,^[12] the commune has 3014 people, of which 2968 are Romanians and 46 are Roma people. Also, the population is dramatically aged: 40% are older than 60 years, and children are only 12% of the total population. 99% are Orthodox.

There are a few county roads that link the commune with Pitești and the nearby villages:^[13]

1. DJ503 links Rociu with Oarja and the A1 Motorway. It is asphalted from the motorway to Rociu. The road continues South to Giurgiu, but it is unasphalted.
2. DJ659 links Rociu north with Suseni, Bradu, and Pitești and to the south it continues to Negrași, Videle and Giurgiu. It is asphalted.
3. DJ703b is unasphalted and links Rociu to Costești in the west and to Căteasca in the east.

The communal roads link the villages one to another:

1. DC104 links DJ659 (in Gliganu de Jos) with DJ 503 (in Rociu village) and then extends West to Căteasca.^[14] It is asphalted between Gliganu and Rociu.
2. DC106 links the centre of Rociu village with Șerbănești village and DJ659.^[15] It was recently asphalted.

There are no major firms in the area.^[16] The main occupation is agriculture. There are two major agricultural companies, a few mills, a small pig farm, a paper factory and a lot of small markets and pubs that provide the population with daily goods. There is a fair every Tuesday. Since the economy is based on agriculture, the old irrigation canal might still be used.^[4] Today, it only brings water to local fishing lakes.

El ayuntamiento se encuentra en el pueblo de Rociu. ^{[ 17 ]} Cerca del ayuntamiento están la oficina de correos ^{[ 18 ]} y los servicios veterinarios y sociales. No muy lejos se encuentra el centro político del Partido Socialdemócrata. Hay una escuela ^{[ 19 ]} y una iglesia ^{[ 20 ]} en cada pueblo.

Aguas arriba, en el río Dîmbovnic , se encuentra una importante refinería de petróleo , la Refinería Arpechim . Desde su construcción, casi todos los desechos tóxicos se vertieron al río. ^{[ 21 ] [ 22 ] [ 23 ]} En 2005, la situación era tan grave que el agua de las fuentes ya no era potable, ni siquiera para los animales. La única solución para proporcionar agua a los habitantes y sus animales fue utilizar las aguas profundas del freático (unos 200 metros de profundidad) y construir un extenso sistema de tuberías de agua a cada casa. ^{[ 24 ]} Hoy en día, el río solo se contamina ocasionalmente ^{[ 25 ]} e incluso los peces han reaparecido después de más de 50 años.

Rociu no es un destino turístico ^{[ 26 ]} y no tiene hoteles ni campings. Sin embargo, no muy lejos, en Negrași , se encuentra un área protegida, el Prado de Narcisos de Negrași . ^{[ 27 ]}

En el pueblo de Șerbănești hay una iglesia antigua que se considera un objetivo turístico. ^{[ 28 ]}

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