Overview
As soon as you leave the Torre de' Passeri motorway exit in the province of Pescara, you discover a treasure trove lying on the extreme eastern slope of the Gran Sasso, which alone is worth a visit.
You are in the municipality of Castiglione a Casauria, to be precise, but the beauty of art belongs to everyone and has no boundaries. That beauty is called the Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria, a jewel of Abruzzo's Romanesque-Gothic architecture dating back to 871, a religious and civil reference point during the dark years of the early Middle Ages, during the passages of power from one domination to another, always marked by bloodbaths.
Referring to the monument, Ignazio Silone, one of Abruzzo's most representative writers, wrote: “What is still most precious about the region today (with the Monastery of San Liberatore alla Maiella, Santa Maria in Arabona, San Pietro in Alba Fucens, which we invite you to visit) goes back to that first period of reawakening of the spirit after the long night of barbarism”.
Look carefully at the panels, which recall characters and castles linked to the Abbey, the facts narrated by the architrave of the portico, the ambo of Frà Giacomo da Popoli.
What you have in front of you is in fact a 'book of stone' to be carefully leafed through as long as it takes to understand and to thank the Benedictine monks, the creators of that ante litteram cultural Renaissance.
Once arrived in Torre de' Passeri, you immediately see Gizzi Castle commonly called "Castelluccio", which dominates the village from its hilly position. It was built in 1719 by the will of the Mazara family of Sulmona, under the aegis of the Marquise Smeralda.
Admire a majestic stone portal on the main facade, surmounted by an imposing balcony, above which the coat of arms of the Mazara family stands. In 1967 the ownership of the castle passed to the Gizzi family, to become the seat, in 1979, of the Institute of Studies and Research Casa di Dante in Abruzzo, and then in 2005 a foundation, with the aim of promoting and disseminating in Italy and abroad culture and art with reference to the figure and work of Dante Alighieri, with exhibitions, conferences and round tables, organized annually.
The castle also houses the 'J. Bellonzi' Dante Museum and the 'M. A. Caldora' library. Don't miss the 'baccalà 'mbriache' (dried cod), the 'scrippelle al forno' (baked scrippelle), the 'spaghettini all'ortica' (spaghetti with nettle), the rabbit with snails, the 'fuje strascinite', accompanied by plenty of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo which, as tradition has it, seems to have been 'launched' from here.
The importance of the relationship between the village and this wine is evidenced by the Ministry of Agriculture's vineyard registers, in which Montepulciano was also called Uva Rossa di Torre de' Passeri or Montepulciano di Torre de' Passeri from the very first years of its establishment in 1916.
What else to see:
- The church of the Madonna Dell'Arco
- The Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Graces
- House of the de Pompeis