According to legend, this place was built in 1498 on the site of a miraculous apparition. The frescoed portal of the Deposition is from 1505. On the left of the portal, is another Renaissance fresco of the Virgin, Child and two Angels. On the right side are remains of an old building which could have been a cloisters. The bell tower has little windows and finishes in a pyramid shape. The interior has one nave with a cross vault, decorations and ornaments. There is an arch by the apse and the main altar was made in 1642 with a great deal of golden stucco, decorated columns, allegoric statues and a 15th-century triptych. There are also frescoes by the school of Andrea de Litio. The church is found on the road between Alanno and Cugnoli. From Alanno, take the road for Cugnoli and turn left for Torre De Passeri. After 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) you find the church.
Built in the 17th Century to commemorate an apparition of the Madonna, this has a facade with a central, square part covered by stone blocks. Above the neoclassical portal is a square window underlined by a cornice. The upper, central part of the facade finished with an oval, horizontal cornice. The higher sides are sloping. The interior has a nave with two lateral chapels, covered by frescoes. The decorations contain 54 scenes and portraits. This is not far from Pietranico which can be reached by the A25 from Pescara, from the Casauria-Torre de Passeri exit.
This was discovered by excavators examining a succession of strata at Roman, sub-Appennine and Neolithic levels. The value of this discovery is not only related to the fact that it is over 6500 years old. It is also that the cave was not a hunting shelter like so many other archaeological finds from the same period. This cave was a sanctuary. Studies have found remains of a child sacrificed in some rite, that was probably linked to the fertility of the land. It is near Bolognano, in a rocky landscape with waterfalls and green water from the Valley of Orta.
Of medieval origin, this church used to be home to nuns. It can be reached by going up a staircase that was rebuilt in the 18th Century. The facade dates from the same period, decorated with Maltese Crosses. The Romanesque, polygonal apse dates from the middle of the14th Century as does the bell tower, which is surrounded by majolica bowls. Near the entrance, in a niche, is the 15th-century statue of a Madonna with Child. Inside, there is a single nave and lateral altars. On the main altar is a painting of San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist) from 1617, by Samberlotti di Montorio.
The cathedral is found on a hill where pagan rites took place once upon a time. There are remains of cult settlements here and Roman remains have been found in the area which testify that it is an ancient, holy place. Before the cathedral was built, which is dedicated to Santa Maria degli Angeli and to San Massimo, there were at least two Christian churches here. Material was found during restorations that documents the story of the church throughout the centuries from before the year 1000. Before the 11th Century, it was Romanesque, and in the 14th Century it became Gothic. It was restored at the beginning of the last century, and was seriously damaged by the 1944 bombings, and rebuilt in 1955. The facade was rebuilt in brickwork, but the lateral door dates from 1574 and the bell tower from the 14th Century. The interior is a latin cross shape with three naves containing pointed arches. The main altar in the presbytery is from the 12th Century, and, although it was rebuilt after the bombings, it still has original parts. The oldest part of the church is the crypt, which dates from before the year 1000. It has oriental, marble and granite columns that date from the classical building period, and there are remains of frescoes from the 12th and 13th Centuries. There is a distinctive holy water font which has a mix of medieval and Renaissance elements.
This is one of the most beautiful 18th-century buildings in the region. The terracotta brickwork façade reaches skyward with two rows of Doric and ionic columns. The middle section has a soft curved line. It was originally built in the Middle Ages and rebuilt in 1733. The inside is neoclassical with a nave that gives onto various lateral altars which are decorated with prestigious paintings. One of the walls features a fresco of the Annunciation. The second altar on the right has a 19th-century guilded wooden statue of the Virgin which is quite striking. You can ask the parish priest to show you the Copertore di Cristo Morto. The velvet is embroidered in many colors, including silver and gold, and is placed on a wooden sculpture in the niche between the first and second altars on Good Friday. In the sacristy there is a tavola pregiottesca ('pre-Giotto painting') of a Madonna with Child.
People have sometimes imagined that the name of this town came from the chains worn by the prisoners who were brought from Aquila. But it's really derived from Catonius which refers to a rural town. The fantasy has had its effects though, for example a there is an inscription which mentions this on the façade of the Church of S. Giovanni Battista, an unusual example of neoclassical Baroque. Near the church there is a building constructed by a noble family in the 19th century. The monastery of Santa Maria a Catignano on the town's outskirts and the rural architecture in the surrounding countryside are also worth seeing. From Pescara take the s.n. 602, or the A25 then the Chieti exit.
According to historical records, the founding of this city coincides with the building of the castle in the year 1000. The walls with houses built into them and the towers (which were also houses) are still standing in the historical center. Another type of fort was the already decaying Palazzo de Petris which of which the main arched doorway decorated with diamond-shaped ashlars can still be seen. The Church of Santa Maria Assunta from 1690, has a main doorway in stone with Baroque decorations. Inside there is one nave with lateral chapels (in a Latin cross plan) which are as Baroque as the paintings and the crucifix. In the valley on the other side of the river there is the historical monastery of S. Clemente a Casauria. From Pescara take the A25, Casauria-Torre de Passeri exit.
This town was once called Turris Passum, named after its Castle's tower which signaled a passage through the valley with fires lit at night. The town is currently a business hotspot, but also hosts artistic initiatives on a yearly basis. An annual painting exhibition, held from September to November in the Mazara-Gizzi Castle, focuses on Dante's Divine Comedy, and presents works by Botticelli, Michelangelo, Blake, Signorelli, Raffaello and others.
This church dates from 1607 and has an oval shape. The ornate facade has a distinctive, triangular front. There is a simple, classic portal. The interior has one nave with a discontinous perimeter and lateral altars. The walls are concave and there is a pulpit. There are Baroque, stucco decorations made mostly by Ambrogio Piazza in 1669. On the vault are frescoes of scenes from the book of Esther. The back wall has paintings of S. Cristoforo, and there are paintings on the altars and works of wood and a wooden choirbox. There is also a reliquary of the saint. Services: Weekdays: 8a, 6.30pm Weekends: 9a, 11a, 6.30pm.
Perched at a height of 1,460 meters (4,790 feet) above sea level, Rocca Calascio is the highest fort in all of Italy, and commands an uninterrupted view of its surroundings for miles on all sides. The origins of this hilltop fortress can be traced back to the 10th Century when a single watchtower was built at the site to keep an eye on the surrounding meadows. By the 13th Century, the fortress had expanded to include a defensive wall with four corner towers, enclosing the original tower and a courtyard. Rocca Calascio is particularly intriguing as it was designed to house only military troops, with no provision for civilians or noblemen. Although unchallenged by human adversaries, an earthquake in 1703 all but destroyed the fortress and its neighboring village. While the town was rebuilt at a safe distance, the fortress was abandoned, its ruins a stoic reminder of its glory days. Today, Rocca Calascio still watches over the Apennines and its alpine meadows, it's stony face a eye-catching vision against the azure sky above the town of Calascio.
Surrounded by rose beds and oleanders, these splendid vineyards are perfectly aligned by the hands of these expert wine growers. This noble family has been producing wine for centuries and this is in fact one of the best known wine cellars of the Salento. As you walk down the rows you can appreciate all the work that goes toward maintaining the vines: a combination of the latest technology as well as more traditional methods like those used to kill parasites which are in harmony with the surrounding habitat.