Frisa

On the first hills of Frentana, in a plot of vineyards and olive groves, you will find a delightful little town, which is not far from Lanciano, in the province of Chieti. Welcome to Frisa, a small art capital rich in churches and historic buildings.
Its birth is not certain, but the area was certainly inhabited in Roman times, whose remains of a city wall have surfaced in the Piano di Maggio district.

The village is first mentioned in an 11th-century source, at the time when it was subject to the counts of Chieti; later, it came under the jurisdiction of Lanciano and then of a series of noble families: the Caldora, the Cotugno, and the Caccianini, who held it until the abolition of Feudalism. 
You cannot avoid stopping at the baronial palace of the latter blue-blooded family, to which is attached a 14th-century tower of mixed stone and brick on which some windows appear.
The ancient building, whose time of construction is unknown, was purchased by the municipality. It houses an art gallery where you can admire, in addition to works by modern artists, a beautiful exhibition dedicated to Frisian sacred art, with reproductions of paintings kept in churches in the municipal area. 

Also visit the 17th-century Sanctuary of the Madonna del Popolo, built between 1666 and 1669 as a consequence of the apparition of the Madonna to a Frisian peasant woman. A 16th-century painting of the Virgin was kept on the Baroque altar, which was stolen in 1980 and replaced by a painting that artist Pietro Annigoni donated to the parish in 1982.
The 16th-century ancient public fountain is scenic, with two interesting sculptural masks for the gushing water, of spring origin.
For you walkers there is "available" the Path of San Tommaso, a path of art and spirituality located among all four provinces of Abruzzo and is an integral part of the network of the Paths of Faith of Europe - which crosses through the town of Frisa on the last stop from Lanciano to Ortona (by 26 km), at about 1 kilometre from the Shrine.

Now are you ready to taste the typical dishes of the province of Chieti?
In front of you will appear maccheroni alla chitarra, ambassadors of Abruzzo, strictly seasoned with a mixed meat sauce of beef, pork or lamb; then there are the so-called strascinate turnips, first soaked in cold water and then boiled with browned garlic and sautéed in a pan with oil and chili pepper at will; last but not least, fiadoni, which are among the most noted recipes prepared by families in the province. These are rustic ravioli-shaped pastries prepared with a dough of eggs, oil, white wine and flour, with a filling made of various cheeses (mainly hard ones such as rigatino and pecorino), eggs and different spices.

What else to see:

• The parish church of St. Filippo Neri in Guastameroli
• The parish church of Santa Lucia
• The vestiges of an ancient church in the Badia district
• The abandoned convent known as "il Casone" in Guastameroli