Overview
They say that the Aterno has the coldest waters among Italian rivers, but for the small village of Sant'Eusanio Forconese, which has observed it for hundreds of years from its over 500 metres above sea level, this is an irrelevant detail. They are long-standing friends and allies and contribute to making the area a beautiful natural setting, fortunately still unspoilt.
Come and see for yourself by organizing a stay here in the middle Aterno valley, about 18 kilometres from L'Aquila, where the village awaits you for a fresh holiday, with an average temperature of 22 degrees, like that of the best climatic resorts.
You can find it nestled on a protuberance of Mount Cerro, indicating its oldest part which rises to the north: this is what remains of the Castle, probably built between the 12th and 13th centuries, which stands out even several kilometres away distance, with the adjoining church of the Madonna del Castello.
Note the partially renovated perimeter wall, connected by 5 semicircular and 4 quadrangular towers, while the west side is defended by a moat parallel to the walls. Probably at the beginning of the eighteenth century, when the fortress lost its defensive function, the religious monument with a gabled roof was built against its walls, with a tiny bell tower and a simple façade onto which a portal with a stone frame, surmounted by an eardrum, opens.
If you are lucky, you can visit the ancient parish of Sant'Eusebio (which, at the time we are writing, is still undergoing the latest restorations following the 2009 earthquake), founded in the 8th century and remodeled and transformed several times. The crypt is notable, with seven naves and three apses; in the centre, you will find the ancient altar with the remains of the Saint.
Reach the hamlet of Casentino, with its characteristic semicircular shape, which climbs along a wooded coast against the imposing backdrop of Mount Cagno.
On the wall you can see the ruins of an ancient watch structure, known as the 'Walled Wall', in direct visual connection on one side with the monastery of Santo Spirito in the municipality of Ocre, and on the other with the territory of the ancient Lordship of Barile, today's Villa Sant'Angelo.
The typical dishes of the province of L'Aquila and, more generally, of Abruzzo await you at the table, such as the “maccheroni alla chitarra”, “sagne" with beans, pappardelle and tagliatelle with wild boar ragout, lamb “scaldidito”, “pallotte cacio e ov”, roasted cheese. Without forgetting the arrosticini, ambassadors of the region, known throughout the world.