There is a place in Abruzzo that many believe they know, but have actually only touched upon. It is Calascio, the village of the famous Rocca Calascio, the highest castle in Italy, perched at 1464 metres above sea level and a destination for over seventy thousand visitors a year.
Strolling through the alleyways of Calascio
The Fortress is an iconic image, a sight that has travelled the world: a square plan, circular turrets at the corners, a mighty central keep that was perhaps once a watchtower and which in the fifteenth century was transformed into the current defensive structure. Around it, a landscape that seems infinite, made of silences, wind, and horizons that open up to the Gran Sasso d'Italia massif. A little further down, like a jewel set in stone, the octagonal church of Santa Maria della Pietà, built in 1451, adds harmony and mystery to a place that has something unreal about it.
Yet Calascio is not only its fortress. Before taking the path that climbs towards the ancient village and the fortress, the advice is to stop in the modern village, the one where life flows every day, under the watchful gaze of the towers. It is an orderly, cosy village, gently climbing up the mountain. From a distance it looks like a small cat perched on the rock, with the two bell towers that look like ears stretched out to listen to the world. Many arrive, park and drive upwards again without really crossing it. And so Calascio runs the risk of being a village that one crosses, but does not see. Instead, it is enough to walk slowly up its stairways, slip into the alleyways, stop in front of the churches and the convent, to discover hidden glimpses, sudden terraces, stone details that tell a more intimate story. In the bars and restaurants of the centre, one breathes a simple and sincere welcome, perfect for taking a break before the climb, savouring the typical products of a land that for centuries has lived off sheep-farming.
Indeed, Calascio was part of the Barony of Carapelle and experienced a period of prosperity thanks to activities related to transhumance and livestock farming. Then the twentieth century brought a severe decline and deep depopulation, reducing the inhabitants to little more than a hundred. For years, the Rocca remained a silent sentinel above a town that seemed destined to empty. It was between the late eighties and nineties that something changed: growing attention towards the Rocca, which became a cinematic setting and an international destination, brought eyes and footsteps back to these ancient stones. Since then, the flow has not stopped, and today the fortress and its village represent one of the most powerful symbols of Abruzzo.
But the real challenge here isn't just attracting visitors: it's repopulating the area. In recent years, new accommodation facilities have sprung up, small “alberghi diffusi” (scattered hotels), and eateries that showcase local produce. A Community Cooperative works to provide essential services, especially for the elderly population, and to strengthen a development model that combines tourism with quality of life. With the "Rocca Calascio Luce d’Abruzzo" project, funded by PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) funds, the Municipality is investing in a comprehensive cultural, social, and economic regeneration programme: festivals, training courses related to cinema, tourism, shepherding, innovation, and music are turning the village into a widespread, open-air laboratory. The aim is not just to enhance an icon, but to reawaken an entire region.
Visiting Calascio is therefore about allowing yourself time for wonder. It means pausing in the village before ascending, letting yourself be surprised by the details, listening to the silence that envelops the houses, and then, step by step, walking the path that leads to the Rocca, a true treasure chest of Abruzzo. When you reach the summit and your gaze embraces the mountains and the plateau, you understand that this place is not just a panorama to photograph, but a story that continues to seek new inhabitants, new tales, new lives to cherish within its stones.
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