Overview
Welcome to Monteodorisio. The village with an imposing name boasts an equally majestic castle, the keystone of its history. We invite you to listen to this history and experience it. Everything, as you know, stems from a territory and a character.
The place in question is the Sinello valley in the province of Chieti with its hilly relief, about 10 kilometres from Vasto and less than 40 km from Termoli, that is in Molise. The character is Odorisio Berardi, Count of the Marsi, who was its feudal lord at the end of the 10th century, extending his dominions from Marsica to the Frentana Adriatic coast and giving rise to the village at about 300 metres above sea level (in reality, it had already been inhabited in previous eras, as attested by the numerous archaeological finds).
His was a powerful family, of Frankish origin, whose history coincided with that of the region at the time. Just think that thanks to the Berardi's military might, the Saracens were unable to conquer Abruzzo and annex it into their empire.
Odorisio therefore started the story, leaving his name to the village. But, according to tradition, the castle – which you can admire in the highest part of the village – was built later, at the end of the 11th century, and successively belonged to powerful families, including the Del Borgo, Barrile, Caldora and d'Avalos families.
We recommend that you leave your car in front of the equipped green area, available to visitors and tourists for stops and refreshments, and walk up to the village with its walls, watchtowers and gates, which continue to evoke that period.
The first monument that welcomes you is the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie, built in 1886 when, during the restoration of the old church, a spring of water gushed forth. According to tradition, it healed the sick.
Let’s go further up to the mighty fortification, which is still spectacular today. Rebuilt several times, the last by Giacomo Caldora at the beginning of the 15th century, and converted into a stately residence in the 17th and 19th centuries, it has a pentagonal plan with cylindrical towers, two of which remain well preserved.
Inside, you can visit a series of rooms free of charge, which house the Museum for the Economy between Antiquity and the Renaissance, the Documentation Centre of the Franciscan Order in Abruzzo and Molise, and the Vastese Archaeological Museum, which collects numerous objects from the people who inhabited the area from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. Among the most significant exhibits are the alphabetarium in the Oscan language from Casalbordino, the collection of votive artefacts unearthed at the site of the Frentano sanctuary of Fonte San Nicola, between San Buono and Carpineto Sinello, and the grave goods from the late Roman tombs from Morendici di Villafonsina.
Behind the castle, another naturally shaped manor rises towards the sky: it is the Maiella.
Let’s visit the church of San Giovanni Battista, too. With its foundation walls and mighty bell tower, it was part of the fortified village's defence system.
The bell tolls half past noon and it is time to get to know the typical products of the area, such as “Ventricina”, a sausage made with pork, chilli pepper, salt and fennel seeds; “Sagne a pezzate”, homemade pasta made with durum wheat semolina, salt and water, generally served with fresh tomato sauce; “Ndernappe”, homemade pasta made with white flour, bran, water and salt, served with a slightly spicy “ventricin”a sauce; “Pallotte cace e ove”, meatballs made with cheese, eggs and stale bread, fried and then sautéed in a tomato sauce.
Among the desserts, try “Lu Purcellate” with wine, flour, oil, sugar, eggs and brewer's yeast, introduced in 1935 on the occasion of the festivity of Saint Anthony Abbot, protector of animals; “Scrippelle”, with flour, yeast and water, fried in seed oil and covered with caster sugar; the stuffed “Celli”, with a horseshoe shape, produced in two variants: the first with eggs and the second with white wine.