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The Camponeschi Castle is one of the most significant historical elements in the Prata d'Ansidonia area. The fortified structure, linked to the powerful Camponeschi family, was built to control communication routes and defend the surrounding territory. Although today mainly traces and ruins remain, the site retains a strong value...

The Prata Fountain is one of the places most linked to the memory of the community's daily life. Made of local stone, the fountain has been an essential point of water supply in the village for centuries. Numerous daily activities took place around this space: washing clothes, water supply and...

The belvedere of Prata d'Ansidonia is one of the most suggestive viewpoints in the area. Situated high above the town, it offers a wide view of the hills of the Subequana Valley and the Gran Sasso mountains. From this point it is possible to observe the agricultural landscape surrounding the town, characterised by...

The Church of St Nicholas of Bari is the main religious building in Prata d'Ansidonia and one of the landmarks of the local community. The current building is the result of interventions and transformations over the centuries, which have partially changed the original layout. The stone façade is...

Archaeological Area of Peltuinum The archaeological area of Peltuinum represents one of the most important Roman sites in inland Abruzzo. The ancient city rose in a strategic position along the Via Claudia Nova, a consular road that connected Amiternum with the Adriatic coast. Founded by the Vestini and later Romanised, Peltuinum was a commercial and commercial centre of the...

Beneath the town of San Benedetto in Perillis is a complex system of underground caves carved into the rock. These underground rooms have been used for centuries as dwellings and community living spaces. During the coldest winters, the population moved into the caves together with the animals, which contributed to the...

The Abbey of San Benedetto is the main historical building in the town and one of the most significant monuments in the area. The current building dates back to the 11th century and is one of the most important examples of Romanesque architecture in Abruzzo. The stone façade and the elegant portal tell of the long religious tradition of the place. The interior...

The Church of St Pius I Pope is the main church in the village and an important landmark for the local community. The building preserves architectural elements that testify to the different construction phases that have taken place over the centuries. The interior has a nave with side chapels and houses works of art...

The Castle of San Pio delle Camere represents the most imposing element of the town's landscape. The fortified structure was built in the Middle Ages to control the communication routes of the Navelli plateau and protect the population from raids. The complex has mighty walls and defensive towers that dominate the town. The castle...

The Church of St Stephen is the main religious building in the village. The current building dates back to the 15th century but has undergone several extensions and decorations over the centuries. The stone façade leads to an interior that preserves works of sacred art and evidence of the local religious tradition....

The Medicean Tower is one of the most recognisable symbols of Santo Stefano di Sessanio. Built in the 14th century, the tower was part of the town's defence system and was used as a lookout and control point for the surrounding territory. In the 16th century, the territory came under the control of the...

The Church of San Carlo Borromeo is one of the main places of worship in Villa Santa Lucia degli Abruzzi and an important landmark for the local community. The building has a simple structure, typical of religious architecture in Apennine towns, with a linear façade and bell tower that fits into the...

Carrufo is a small hamlet of Villa Santa Lucia degli Abruzzi located along the road that crosses the Tirino Valley, in a strategic position between mountains and plains. The built-up area develops in a rural context characterised by cultivated fields, olive groves and vineyards, witnesses to a farming tradition...

The village of San Silvestro is located not far from Pagliare and is one of the most evocative places in the Ofena area. Now in a state of abandonment, it still clearly preserves its original layout with stone dwellings, internal and external staircases, stables and domestic environments linked to rural life. The church,...

The Pagliare di San Silvestro and del Colle represent one of the most evocative testimonies of the rural landscape of the Apennines. They are ancient settlements, now largely abandoned, that tell a story of agriculture, sheep farming and community life. These settlements were not simply seasonal shelters, but real...

The complex of the Church and Convent of St Francis is located outside the town centre and represents one of the most important testimonies to the Franciscan presence in the area. Documented as early as the 14th century, the convent was part of the Amiternina custody and was also frequented by St. John of Capestrano. The...

The Church of San Pietro in Cryptis, also known as “alle grotte” (at the caves), is located just outside the built-up area of Ofena and is one of the territory's most fascinating and ancient sites. Of Benedictine origin, the building is spread over a single room with a semicircular apse and presents a rare peculiarity: an articulated structure...

The village of Civitaretenga developed on the top of the hill, around the ruins of the original village, preserving the imprint of the typical tower houses. In the historical centre, Via Guidea, formerly called Via Giudea, is of particular interest, bearing witness to the presence of a small Jewish ghetto from the 13th to the 16th century. This...

The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, located at the entrance to the village of Navelli along the road leading to the historic centre, dates back to the 15th-16th century and was built as a chapel dedicated to the cult of the Virgin Mary at a strategic crossing point. The façade, simple and linear, has a gabled profile...

The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, built after the 18th century earthquake, features Baroque forms both in its structure and interior decoration. Inside, the monumental Baroque organ on a wooden complex by Adriano Fedeli della Rocchetta di Camerino stands out. Six side altars, as well as the high altar, bear stuccoes with the coats of arms of the...

Among natural panoramas, hidden lakes and rocky plateaus, the Piana di Navelli opens up like a picture in which small villages blend harmoniously with the landscape. Along the ancient sheep-track that connected L'Aquila to Foggia, stands the Church of the Madonna del Campo, an example of pastoral architecture linked to transhumance. Built...

Among the picturesque hills of the Navelli plain stands the rural church of Santa Maria in Cerulis, built on an ancient pagan cult site with Lombard traces. Originally intended as a resting place for shepherds during the transhumance, the structure blends into the landscape and conveys a sense of...

The Church of San Sebastiano, parish church of Navelli, stands on the remains of the ancient medieval castle-city, below the baronial palace that dominates the village. The façade, hidden by the surrounding buildings, reveals an elegant 16th-century wooden portal leading to the nave. Built in 1631, the church presents a late Baroque style...

The Church of Santa Maria di Loreto in Presciano was built between the 16th and 17th centuries, enlarged in 1610 and originally called Santa Maria della Misericordia, with a small shelter for pilgrims attached. On the main altar was a painting from 1777 depicting the Virgin Mary with St. Roch and S....

On the slopes of Monte Scarafano, the Capodacqua springs feed the lake of the same name, an artificial basin known as the “Little Atlantis of Abruzzo”. Built in 1965 with a dam on the upper course of the Tirino river, the lake collects extremely fresh and clear water from numerous natural springs. Visible beneath the surface are a...

The Tirino river, whose name derives from the Greek word Tritanus (“triple spring”), originates from the Campo Imperatore aquifer system and, after a 25 km underground journey, flows visibly for about 13 km through the Tirino valley until it joins the Pescara river at the Tre Monti gorges....

The Piccolomini Castle, located in the centre of the village at the highest point, stands on the remains of a medieval fortification, of which the inner square tower remains visible. Received by the Piccolomini family in 1463 from King Ferdinand, the castle has a trapezoidal plan with three circular towers at the corners and a...

Before his death, St John of Capestrano wanted all his manuscripts and books to be brought back to Capestrano. Thus, in 1457, construction of the chapel dedicated to him began. In the following centuries, the convent was enlarged and, in 1620, when the cloister was completed, paintings were made that tell the...

The Church of San Pietro ad Oratorium, immersed in a wood along the left bank of the Tirino River, evokes mysteries and ancient legends. According to the portal architrave, it was founded by the Lombard king Desiderius and renovated in 1100, taking on the Romanesque forms still visible today. Remains of sculpted slabs, however, testify to the ...

The Belvedere di Collepietro is one of the village's most suggestive viewpoints, offering a wide and immersive view of the surrounding area. From here, the view opens onto the valleys, the Gran Sasso mountains and the landscapes that characterise the Abruzzo Apennines. It is an ideal place to stop,...

Sidera Tredecim Collis Petri is a contemporary art installation that enriches the village of Collepietro with a strong symbolic value. The name, in Latin, recalls the “thirteen stone hills”, an identifying element of the village and its territorial conformation. The work represents a dialogue between past and present, between tradition and new...

Porta Gran Sasso is one of the main entrances to the village, oriented towards the majestic massif that dominates the L'Aquila area. This gate represents not only a physical access to the village, but also a visual and symbolic link with the mountain, a central element of the local identity. In the past, it was crossed by travellers,...

Porta Maiella represents one of the historical entrances to the village of Collepietro, located in a strategic and evocative position. Its name recalls the Maiella massif, visible on clear days, underlining the strong link between the village and the surrounding natural landscape. To pass through this gateway is to enter a context...

The Church of the Madonna del Buon Consiglio is a striking example of architecture related to the life of shepherds and travellers along the Tratturo Magno. The rectangular, Romanesque structure is reinforced by three massive buttresses on each side, necessary for stability on steep, earthquake-prone ground....

The Collepietro Tower is the symbol of the village and the only significant remnant of the ancient medieval castle that once dominated the Tirino Valley and the Navelli Plain. Dating back to the 12th-13th centuries, the tower served to control traffic on the Tratturo Magno, the main transhumance route. Built in stone...

A short path leads in about 15 minutes to the top of a hill to the north-west of Bominaco, where the narrow entrance to a consecrated grotto opens among the rocks. Inside, the semi-darkness highlights a golden stone altar, illuminated by a large natural window, while the cave, long...

The Abbey of Bominaco, nestled in the heart of Abruzzo, preserves precious evidence of Benedictine monastic life and its cultural and religious role. The abbey church of S. Maria Assunta, built between the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century, shows an elegant fusion of styles: the sober and monumental façade, the apses...

The Oratory of San Pellegrino in Bominaco represents one of the most extraordinary treasures of the Abruzzi Middle Ages, both for its architecture and, above all, for the richness of its interior paintings. Located a short distance from the church of Santa Maria Assunta, it was originally an integral part of the abbey complex, as confirmed by documents attributing...

The Caporciano Castle, also known as the fortified enclosure of the village, dominates the hill at an altitude of about 850 metres, offering a spectacular view of the plateau and the Gran Sasso, Maiella and Sirente mountain ranges. The earliest records date back to the 12th century, when the village and castle...

In the 16th century, the church of S. Maria dei Centurelli was built along the transhumance sheep-tracks, at a strategic point where the route forked. The church took the place of a smaller chapel of the “Brothers of the Belt” and was completed in 1561, probably following a miracle that occurred...

The Chiesetta di San Pietro a Caporciano is a small rural jewel located just outside the village, with a panoramic view of the Navelli plain. Dating back to the medieval period, it preserves intact the typical appearance of Abruzzo's rural churches. The structure, built of exposed local stone, has a simple façade with a...

The Church of San Benedetto Abate dominates the village of Caporciano from above and is the community's main religious building. Built in the 16th century, it represents a harmonious example of transition between Renaissance style, evident in the portal dated 1554, and neoclassical elements introduced in the interior renovations. The sober gabled façade...

The Museo Civico ed Etnografico di Castel del Monte (Castel del Monte Civic and Ethnographic Museum) is housed in five buildings, offering visitors a journey through history and local traditions. Inside the museum, visitors can discover the customs and traditions of the people of Castel Monte, learn more about the activities of shepherds and observe the artefacts made with the...

The Church of Our Lady of Suffrage, located at the foot of the village and overlooking the picturesque Germano Valley, is one of the province's Baroque masterpieces. The interior, with a single nave and rectangular floor plan, is dominated by an imposing gilded wooden altar, decorated with columns decorated with foliage and cherubs supporting...

The Church of San Marco represents the main parish of Castel del Monte and is the most imposing in the village. Its first nucleus dates back to the same period as the construction of the Rocca del Ricetto, probably as a chapel inside the ancient castle. Situated at the foot of the large square tower, historical symbol of the...

The Civic Tower of Castel del Monte, also known as the bell tower, is the oldest building in the village and one of the historical symbols of the area. Originally built in medieval times as a watchtower, it served to defend the village and to communicate with other fortifications in the Baronia, such as Rocca Calascio....

The Church of San Nicola di Bari is the mother church of Calascio and is located in the heart of the medieval village, in Piazza della Vittoria. Its origins date back to the 14th century, but the building has undergone several reconstructions over the centuries, especially after the 1703 earthquake that struck...

The Church of Santa Maria della Pietà is one of the most striking symbols of Abruzzo, located at an altitude of 1,482 metres along the path leading to the famous Rocca Calascio. Built in 1596, according to tradition on a site linked to the victory of the local population against a band of brigands, it presents...

The Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, often also identified as the Church of San Francesco, is located on the edge of the village of Calascio along the road leading to the famous Rocca. Founded in 1594 by the Franciscan friar Father Mario da Calascio, it represents an important place of spirituality and culture in the...

The Watchtower is part of the ancient defence system linked to the Baronia of Carapelle and is a testimony to the area's medieval history. Built in stone and aerial mortar, the structure was probably part of the network of control and protection of the access roads to the village. Today it appears immersed in a...

The Sanctuary of San Pancrazio stands on a hill at an altitude of around 900 metres, dominating the village of Carapelle Calvisio and the surrounding landscape from above. Dedicated to the patron saint, the current building dates back to the first decades of the 18th century, but the place is linked to a much older devotion....

The Fonte di San Vittorino, located just outside the town of Carapelle Calvisio in the direction of Castelvecchio and Capestrano, is an evocative medieval structure of great historical value. Dating back to the 11th century and built on probable Roman pre-existing structures, it represents an important testimony of the ancient waterworks in the area. The spring develops in...

The Conventual Church of St Francis of Assisi, located at the entrance to the village of Carapelle Calvisio, is one of the most significant historical monuments of the town. Dating back to the 15th century, with probable origins in the 14th, it bears witness to the presence of the Friars Minor Conventual who founded the convent here in 1450. The façade is embellished...

Strolling through the narrow alleys of Castelvecchio Calvisio is like entering a real castle, perched on a hill and surrounded by imposing walled houses. The village was protected by walls and a moat, with access permitted at one time only by a drawbridge. Seen from above, the village...

The Church of San Cipriano, located just outside the village, has very ancient origins, with documentary evidence from the 8th century. The structure stands on the remains of Roman settlements and uses reclaimed stones, suggesting that the site previously housed a pagan temple dedicated to Venus. A walk to the church offers...

The Church of San Giovanni Battista, known since 1478, stands on what was probably a fortified palace converted into a church by the Piccolomini. The white façade and ribbed bell tower anticipate the sumptuous interior, dominated by the 17th-century high altar in carved wood and gold leaf. In the central niche is the...

The St Columba Convent, dating back to the 14th century, takes its name from the transfer in 1740 of the body of St Columba the Martyr from the catacombs of San Callisto to the high altar of the church. Today, the convent has been transformed into a historic residence, becoming a place of encounter, culture and spirituality immersed in the...

The Via Mariana is a prayer path immersed in a forest that leads to the small church of San Rocco, built in the 16th century next to the ruins of Barisciano Castle. Along the path are five stone niches housing the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary, made in ceramics by the artist...

The Church of the Carmine, built in the mid 17th century, is an elegant example of Baroque architecture in the L'Aquila area. Completed and enriched with paintings in the following century, it has a single nave with side chapels and a refined stone façade. The interior was embellished with stuccoes, frescoes, statues and sacred furnishings, which...

The Church of Santa Maria di Capo di Serra, also known as Madonna del Buon Consiglio, is the oldest in Barisciano and its origins date back to at least the 14th century, with references documented as early as the 10th century. For centuries, the church and the nearby Largo del Buon Consiglio were the...

The Fonte Grande is one of the most symbolic places in Barisciano, linked to the daily life of the community since the 17th century. As early as 1638, an aqueduct was planned to convey water from the Valle Vicenda and Monte Macera springs to the public fountain. The present structure was built in 1876...

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Valleverde, built in the 17th century to a design by masters from Lombardy, is considered a National Monument due to its artistic and historical value. The single-nave church houses important works of art, including sculptures attributed to the school of Silvestro dell'Aquila and a precious wooden ceiling in...

The Church of San Flaviano, the town's main parish church, stands on an earlier 11th-century church and has undergone several extensions and decorations over time. Reconsecrated in 1733, it has a Latin cross plan with three naves, a dome enclosed within an octagonal perimeter and rich Baroque decorations. On the outside...

Piazza Vetulasio Sesto Nepote is one of the town's central spaces and is home to Palazzo Ugo Piccinini, an imposing building that houses the primary and secondary schools. In the centre of the square is a monumental fountain with a large boulder symbolically representing the four districts of Barisciano. On the nearby walls...

The Church of the Trinity, originally dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, overlooks Piazza Trieste and was built in the 17th century by Prince Giulio Cesare Caracciolo as an aristocratic chapel for his palace. The neoclassical façade, designed in 1703 by Anastasio Marinelli da Montereale, leads into a rectangular building with four...

The Palazzo del Comune, built between 1910 and 1913 at the behest of Mayor Lucifero Tomassetti, is one of the most appreciated examples of 20th-century architecture in the L'Aquila area. The building, on four floors, one of which is underground, is characterised by an elegant Art Nouveau façade. In the past, the floor...