Overview
The tables of Montazzoli, in the province of Chieti, are rich and full of surprises.
Your sensory journey to the discovery of the small village, which stands on two hills with the Sinello River in between, begins from your taste buds.
If you are a lover of peasant tradition, here for you is the nutritious "Tagliarille e fascile" (pasta and beans), prepared especially in the winter period with high-quality local products, such as beans and "pork rinds". This is followed by "sagne", which is pasta rolled out by hand with a rolling pin and seasoned with a light tomato sauce, flavored with onion and basil.
The exhibition continues with wheat pizza and "pizz grandinie" (corn pizza), rich substitutes for bread. But do not miss "pizz e fegl" (pizza and vegetables), a delicious dish made with field vegetables and mountain potatoes in whose dough was crumbled cornmeal pizza, previously cooked under the "coppa."
There are the "pallotte cac'e ove", which are cheese and egg balls that are a mood of much of the region and that you must try right after the "fegatino montazzolese" of lamb, flavored with onion, usually prepared the day before Easter.
Before starting your journey to explore the village for a beneficial digestive walk, don't miss the traditional desserts: the sweet pizza, soft sponge cake, cut in layers, soaked in coffee and rum and filled with two kinds of cream. The wafers, typical of the Easter season, enclosing a tasty filling of almonds and walnuts, chopped and blended in delicious local honey. "Celli montazzolesi", which are soft "doughnuts" filled with cooked must and jam, usually prepared a few days before the wedding celebration.
In the centre you are expected to visit the church of Madonna della Spogna, whose name comes from the site on which the religious monument was built, rich in carbonate formations called sponges. Its origins date from between the 12th and 13th centuries, but the portal and window on the facade are Baroque while the present structure is 19th-century.
Inside, you can admire an organ from 1890, as well as the one housed in the church of St. Anthony of Padua, made in the first half of the 18th century most probably by Francesco D'Onofrio, a member of the family that was famous for its organ-making art at that time.
If you look up, you will see the 17th-century Franceschelli Castle (named after the family that ruled the area from 1686). It stands on a narrow rocky spur overlooking the surrounding valleys and the village.
You can visit the courtyard of the manor house, but only in summer and with the permission of the owners.
What else to see:
- The church of St. Sylvester Pope
- The church of St. Antonio da Padova
- The church of St. Giovanni
- The chapel of the Madonna del Buon Pastore (in the locality of Lago Negro)