Overview
Are you ready to climb to the sky? You are on the ridge of the state highway, which leads from Vasto to Isernia.
At the end of a wood of oaks and beech trees, "ripped open" by the magnificent view of the Maiella, another road, going uphill, opens to your view.
Climb with it up to about 700 metres above sea level, where Celenza sul Trigno rises, still in the province of Chieti, which seems to levitate over the river on the border between Abruzzo and Molise.
We like to think that its name is in connection with the sky (from Latin caelum), but its origins, in fact, remain obscure.
From up here, with the hills sloping down to the sea, with Mother Mountain winking at the Matese massif, everything seems lighter, visionary to you. Dive into the ancient village, whose earliest mention dates back to 1309, when it is remembered as Celentia, among narrow, winding alleys with the remains of walls and a variety of types of house-walls adorned with portals, corbels and jambs dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.
All of this is illuminated by a vivid light that looks like water, like that of the Trigno River.
In the 17th-century church of Santa Maria dell'Assunta, admire the 17th-century tomb of the D'Avalos-Pignatelli princes, the statues almost all made by Luigi Guacci da Lecce, but especially an interesting carved and gilded wooden altar and a valuable cross from the school of Nicola da Guardiagrele, the Abruzzese artist who made the goldsmith's art of the 15th century great.
The bell tower, separate from the church, is made of stone mixed with brick and houses valuable bells from the Antica fonderia Marinelli in Agnone, about 30 kilometers away.
In the territory, along the SS 650 at Macchie la Fara, reach Torre della Fara, an 8th-century Longobard tower in an isolated position on the bed of the Trigno River, right along the ancient route of the sheep-track that led to Puglia. It is an interesting example of a cylindrical-shaped watchtower made of stone; and you can see a spectacular oak tree, called the Quercia Natale, in the Martinelle locality.
When at mealtime, you cannot refuse a taste of Ventricina: it is the queen of the house, with meat always cut by hand, stuffed mainly in the pig's bladder that makes it take on its typical oval shape, weighing between one and two kilograms. Even today, as in the past, despite being a cured meat with a long aging process made in old cellars or natural caves, Ventricina is characterized by the absence of synthetic or natural additives and preservatives except for the spices, dried bell pepper, fennel flower and salt used for curing. Among other dishes, we recommend the roast under the coppo and the "pizz'onta" (greasy pizza), a pancake made from the simple dough of water, yeast and flour with the optional addition of a little milk.
A true delicacy of what used to be called poor cuisine.
What else to see:
- The "Pagliare"
- The former convent of San Donato
