Outlying village of Pretola the monastery of Santo Spirito is the only extant example of Cistercian fortified architecture in the Abruzzi; it was founded by the hermit Placito from Roio who settled

The church of Santa Maria in Porclaneta Valley dates back in the time, though the earliest attestations refer to the XI century, when the monastery passed under the jurisdiction of Montecassino Abb

The existence of the monastery, supported by documentary evidence since the eleventh century, is attested as from1091, when the Abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno donated it to the church of Saint P

The church rises on the main square of the town and was built at the end of the sixteenth century (the portal is dated 1601), reusing parts (the entrance staircase, two columns and a stone pulpit)

Built on a hill by the river Mavone, in the homonymous valley, surrounded by trees, the church of Saint John was probably founded in the XII century, along with the Benedictine monastery adjoining

The church lies on the cattle-track from L'Aquila to the Adriatic coast.