Overview
If the land belongs to its owners, the natural and cultural landscape belongs to those who know how to appreciate it.
Can you appreciate the works of art of nature and man?
You will discover this by visiting the territory of Castel Castagna, immersed in a mountainous setting of rare beauty in the province of Teramo. Here, even a blade of grass lost in the immense landscape becomes a masterpiece.
You are in a corner of the ancient Sicilian Valley, so called perhaps because its original inhabitants were the Siculi, an Italic population that dominated it until 290 B.C. when the area of “Pretuzio”, the current province of Teramo, was occupied by the Roman consul Manio Curio Dentato.
A place where open views of the Gran Sasso d'Italia and Monti della Laga, the Fiori and Campli mountains and the Maiella massif become a state of mind, of freedom and beauty, that accompanies you throughout your visit to the fortified village, dating back to the early Middle Ages. Indeed, the village is mentioned in a Catalogus Baronum, dated between 1150 and 1168, during the period of Norman domination.
Don't miss a visit to its delicate refinements made up of ancient palaces, with stone portals dating back to the 14th-13th centuries and the parish church of San Pietro Martire, already existing in the 14th century and restored in the 16th century, with an important stone portal from the Renaissance period.
The most precious pearl of the area is the church of Santa Maria di Ronzano, which you will find near the Mavone river. It’s a marvellous work of art, probably part of an important Benedictine monastic complex, which testifies to the transition between the mature Romanesque and Gothic styles.
The church was built before the last two decades of the 12th century, as attested by the precious apsidal frescoes dated 1181 and the fire of 1183 that left traces inside.
For all information on the visit, consult the municipal website.
Other masterpieces of Castel Castagna are the traditional cold cuts of local producers and the “pecorino abruzzese”, a cheese made from fresh whole sheep's milk, animal rennet and salt, which is eaten in various stages of maturation. It can be also grated over pasta. Each slice of ham melts in the mouth.
The show continues with “maccheroni alla chitarra”, the region's leader, which lends itself to all kinds of sauces even though among the most popular in Abruzzo are the classic sauce with meat balls, the sauce with three meats, the one with tomato and basil, or with mushrooms and truffles, and even with seafood.
Don't forget to try the “arrosticini”, another iconic dish of the region, and the “pallotte cace e ove”.
A never-ending tasty beauty.