Pacentro, the tiny village of Abruzzo, cradle of celebrities.
It is the birthplace of Madonna’s grandparents, of Mike Pompeo’s paternal grandparents, American Secretary of State under Donald Trump’s presidency, and of many Italian emigrants to America and, for this reason, in the United States Pacentro, the tiny medieval village in Abruzzo, is extremely famous, perhaps more than in Italy. With just over one thousand inhabitants, in the province of L’Aquila, immersed in the Majella National Park, it is one of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy. Perched on the mid-hills, at about 700 metres above sea level on the slopes of the Morrone Mountains, this picturesque village is in fact a mountain village where it is pleasant all year round: it never gets too hot in summer nor too cold in winter. Perfect for spending your holidays there, even if your grandparents were not born there. Guarding the entrance to the Peligna Valley over which Pacentro looks, stands Caldora Castle, with its three square 14th-century towers and three round 15th-century towers, surrounded by the typical moat. Together with the castles of Pettorano, Introdacqua, Anversa, Bugnara, Popoli and Roccacasale, it formed part of the defensive system of the Peligna Valley. However these are not the only towers in the village: there are many others, some truncated, others ruined, but all together they form a thicket. The cobbled alleys climb up through the village like a stone serpent in an interweaving of streets, arches, steps, passageways and porticoes linking the small houses together. A stroll through the village allows you to discover some interesting places. Such as the “canaje”, the ancient public washhouse, or the “Preta tonna” (stone of scandal), a large hollowed stone used as an ancient unit of measurement for grain, on which insolvent debtors were forced to sit naked in front of passers-by as a form of public humiliation. Among the churches of Pacentro, the 16th-century Mother Church deserves a visit. The imposing façade, adorned with a worked cornice, is enriched by a graceful sundial. The church vault is entirely covered with stuccoes. Outside, the beautiful bell tower is second, in height, in the valley, only to that of the Annunziata in Sulmona. In front of the church there is a beautiful fountain. That of San Marcello, founded in 1047, is the oldest church in the village. It houses interesting frescoes and has a wooden portal carved by local craftsmen. In the surroundings several noble palaces with splendid portals stand out, such as Palazzo Tonno from the 1600s, Palazzo La Rocca, which today houses the town hall, Palazzo Avolio, Palazzo Massa, Palazzo Granata, with its monumental portal, Palazzo Simone and many others to be discovered while strolling. Wandering through the historic centre, it is a continuous sequence of fascinating views, such as those of Via del Castello, Via di Sotto and Porta della Rapa.
The Bosco degli Abeti Soprani, a place cloaked in fascination and ancestral mystery, where one can still hear the echo of the hunting parties of the men who populated these lands as early as 200 thousand years ago and the sinister howl of the wolf, lord of the forests. We are not talking about Nordic sagas, warriors and battles from other ages, although the atmospheres evoked by these uncontaminated places seem to have taken shape from the pages of Tolkien, but about one of the most fascinating environments of Upper Molise, Pescopennataro, the “village of fir trees and stone”. Perched on a spur of rock at about 1,200 metres above sea level, on an impregnable natural fortification from which the whole Sangro valley can be dominated, the delightful mountain village stands on the border between Abruzzo and Molise. The village is literally immersed in an extensive wooded area, almost swallowed by forests of silver fir among the most important in the whole central-southern Apennines. Powerful and rare specimens of silver fir, imposing beeches, springs and streams of crystal-clear water, such as those of Rio Verde, springing from the bowels of the mountain, high-altitude pastures: this is the extraordinary view offered by Pescopennataro, an unmissable stop for tourists who know how to appreciate the landscape and natural heritage that only Upper Molise, at these latitudes, can offer. A climatic resort where excursions and walks can be enjoyed, climbing along the marked paths that cross the Bosco degli Abeti Soprani and lead to the hermitage of San Luca, a charming little church built against a rock face, at a panoramic point from which a grandiose view can be enjoyed. The succession of the seasons makes the canvas painted by Nature changeable: the luxuriant triumph of shades and nuances of green, in spring and summer, gives way to the warm colours of autumn, when the chromatic fantasies of the wood manage to convey sensations difficult to render with ink, before ending with the dazzling pure white of snow. A place to be visited in every season, to be enjoyed in winter with winter sports, but also in summer, with excursions and climbing on rock faces, in autumn, in search of mushrooms and truffles, and in spring, to witness the miracle of Nature repeating itself. The Village of Fir Trees, but also of Stone, where the eternal and immutable elements, the rocks, mingle with the finiteness of human life, with its culture, and become artefacts, works of art, unique pieces from inert matter that take life and shape under the skilled hands of the “pescolano” stonecutter. A way perhaps of mastering Nature, yet living in respectful symbiosis with it, shaping the rock, obtaining utensils and tools from that same material of which the spur overlooking the Sangro is made, on which the ancestors decided to build the first dwellings of Pescopennataro.
Atri.
Immersed in the enchantment of the first hills of the Teramo area overlooking the Adriatic, Atri is characterised by the presence of majestic calanchi, protected by a Nature Reserve established in 1995. Considered one of the most beautiful art towns in Abruzzo, it is an authentic open-air museum with a succession of monuments, historic buildings, churches, works of art and evocative natural landscapes. In a journalistic report, Giorgio Manganelli described it as follows: «A city of mountain contemplation, since it looks both at the Majella and at the Gran Sasso d'Italia, it is decidedly an archaic city more than ancient». Its proximity to the coast makes it an excellent starting point for reaching the beaches of Roseto degli Abruzzi, Silvi or Pineto where, submerged on the seabed in front of Torre del Cerrano, the remains of the ancient port of the Roman city of Hadria can be seen. In the town, absolutely worth seeing is the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, which partly rises over an ancient Roman cistern transformed into a crypt. Inside it is possible to admire the cycle of frescoes by Andrea De Litio, an authentic masterpiece of the Abruzzo Renaissance.
