Overview
A small village in the province of Chieti, located at the foot of a scenic cliff overlooking the entire Sangro valley, between the Verde and Turcano streams, on the border with Molise, Rosello is of medieval origin.
The first settlements seem to date back to the early Middle Ages, by the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere, of which only a few remains are visible. In the 12th century, Rosello is mentioned for the first time in an official document, confirming its centuries-old origins. Several prestigious families from Abruzzo succeeded one another at the helm of the town: it was a domain of the Caldora family, in the 15th century, the Del Gesso family, the Bernardi family, in the 17th century, and the Caracciolo di Villa Santa Maria family, in the 18th century.
The town began to develop around a watchtower on top of a rocky hill, as a fortified village. In addition to the remains of the stone watchtower, you can admire the Palazzo Caracciolo-Fornari, another evidence of the ancient splendour of the village. It is a courtyard palace, distributed over two floors. On the ground floor there are five portals: the central one is finely decorated and has stone piers and archivolt. The second floor of the palace is plastered and its crowning is a triple order of Romanelle masonry.
Besides these splendid historical sites, the Church of San Nicola, dating back to the first half of the 16th century, is worth a visit. In Jesuit style, with an 18th-century bell tower, it was entirely rebuilt after the 1703 earthquake.
Just outside the village, in the boundless natural surroundings, you will find the famous Abetina di Rosello Regional Nature Reserve, which represents the best-preserved nucleus of silver firs in Italy. It boasts the record of having the tallest wild tree in Italy: a silver fir that is almost 47 metres high.
In Rosello, you can enjoy the typical cuisine of the province of Chieti, such as maccheroni alla chitarra, seasoned with a ragout of mixed beef, pork or lamb, and strascinate turnips, whisch are turnips first soaked in cold water, then boiled with browned garlic and sautéed in a pan with oil and chilli pepper to taste, and fiadoni, rustic ravioli made with a mixture of eggs, oil, white wine and flour, with a filling of various cheeses, mainly hard cheeses such as rigatino and pecorino, eggs and various spices.