Overview
Discover with us Villa Sant'Angelo and its territory, located in the province of L'Aquila on the two banks of the Aterno river, a short distance from the point where the Sirente and Gran Sasso Mountain chains meet. As you can see, on one side a green plain opens up, and on the other oaks and firs rise on the rocky sides, with a surprising contrast of colours and shapes.
To get to know the area, there is nothing better than getting on your bike - if you are passionate about it - and experiencing the patchwork cycle/pedestrian path in the Aterno valley where the L'Aquila-Capitignano railway once existed, now dismantled.
Explore the place, which lies flush on the hillside at an altitude of 575 metres, with the hamlet of Tussillo, standing out against the Gran Sasso skyline, dotted with the villages of Picenze, Poggio Picenze, Barisciano, San Demetrio ne’ Vestini, Ripa, Fagnano Alto and Vallecupa.
A scene that, at night, with the dim lights of the houses in the distance, looks like a nativity scene.
The village is mentioned in a papal bull of 1178, but some sculptural finds of the Lombard-French style from the 9th-10th century, identified in the walls of the church of San Michele and in some houses, suggest the existence of a nucleus already in those centuries. Furthermore, recent archaeological excavations have found funerary objects and coins dating back to the 2nd century AD. C. and the first half of the 4th century.
Its architectural texture envelops your journey with freshly restored buildings, mostly from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, while the churches are still being restored, due to the 2009 earthquake, which in addition to L'Aquila, hit the entire province.
Remember that you are in the land of “L'Aquila DOP saffron", produced by 13 municipalities besides Villa Sant’Angelo (Caporciano, Tione degli Abruzzi, Fontecchio, Molina Aterno, Fagnano Alto, Navelli, Poggio Picenze, Prata d'Ansidonia, San Demetrio ne' Vestini, San Pio delle Camere, Barisciano and obviously the capital of the region). So don't miss the opportunity to buy at least one gram: think that 200 thousand flowers and 500 hours of work are needed for just one kilogram of saffron threads, so don't complain about the price, you have the so-called "Abruzzo red gold" in your hands.
At the table, in addition to saffron-scented dishes, you will find "sagne", widespread throughout the area: it is a dough based on water and flour, to be enjoyed with beans, with the traditional local mutton or with veal sauce and pork, without forgetting the wild boar stew.