History in Abruzzo isn’t kept behind glass. It stands on hilltops, fills Renaissance squares at altitude, and rings church bells over relics that arrived by sea in the Middle Ages. Growing up here, you don’t go and visit this history…you live next door to it. Everything below links to a full guide I’ve written.
Castles, cathedrals and old stone towns
- Rocca Calascio started as a watchtower in the tenth century and grew into the highest fortress in the Apennines. The earthquake of 1461 wrecked it…the town below was rebuilt, the fortress never was.
- The fortress of Civitella del Tronto, around 25,000 square metres and one of the largest in Europe. It was the last Bourbon stronghold of the unification war, surrendering on 20 March 1861.
- Atri cathedral, whose choir holds Andrea De Litio’s fresco cycle, the largest in Abruzzo.
- Ortona, where the Basilica of San Tommaso has kept the relics of St Thomas the Apostle since they arrived by ship in 1258.
- Sulmona, the town of Ovid, whose confetti workshops have made it famous for celebration sweets across Italy.
- Tagliacozzo, where the battle of 1268 ended Hohenstaufen power in Italy…Dante mentions it in the Inferno. The Piazza dell’Obelisco is the heart of the town.
- Pescocostanzo, Renaissance palaces in the high mountains, where the Scuola del Merletto still teaches tombolo lace after at least four centuries.
- Guardiagrele, the town d’Annunzio called the noble city of stone, birthplace of the goldsmith Nicola da Guardiagrele, with copper and wrought-iron workshops still open today.
- Castelli, painting maiolica since the Middle Ages…its historic pieces sit today in the Louvre and the British Museum.
- Santo Stefano di Sessanio, a fortified village that flourished under the Medici in the sixteenth century.
- Pacentro, where the Caldora castle still keeps three of its original towers over the rooftops.
If you’d like a hand turning any of this into a real trip, that’s exactly what I do…see my Work with me page.