The Magic of the Rocca Calascio

I finally succeeded in visiting the dramatic Rocca Calascio after a long time wishing to see it. The problem has always been getting there. We haven’t been brave enough to rent a car in Italy yet and have managed most of our trips so far around Abruzzo using buses and trains. The journey is through mountainous terrain with narrow rocky roads, many of which have no guardrails.

By bus from Pescara you have to change at L’Aquila and wait for four hours there to get another one to Calascio. As there is no bus back in the evening you would have to stay there overnight. Fortunately for us we discovered Daniele, a guide/driver for the region who speaks English and includes the Rocca Calascio in his tours.

Getting There

Daniele departed from Pescara in the direction of Rome and left the highway at the Bussi exit. We stopped along the way and marvelled at the atmospheric, ancient Abbazia di San Clemente in Casauria. It was built in 871 AD and just recently reopened following restoration after being damaged in the April 2009 earthquake.

Interior of Abbazia di San Clemente

Next we made a short stop at the church of San Pietro ad Oratorium with its ‘magic square’ (on the left hand side of the main portal) and we admired the crystal clear Tirino river near Capestrano.

Chiesa di San Pietro ad Oratorium

The Tirino River is claimed to be the cleanest in Europe

Then he drove in the direction of L’Aquila, turned at Ofena and continued on to Calascio. The whole journey took about an hour and a half. He bravely negotiated the breathtaking winding roads up to the small medieval village of Calascio at the foot of the castle. These roads are so narrow that when we met a string of cars going in opposite direction there was no room to pass; so the cars in front had to reverse back to a safe spot.

On another bend there was a break in the guardrail as if a car had crashed into it and the two sections were held together with a string of red and white striped ribbon to prevent cars from going over the edge!

The Village of Calascio

The houses in the village of Calascio curl around the base of the mountain forming a defensive wall. The startling scenery around it is of rugged towering mountain ranges over valleys and immense plains. We rambled through the narrow village streets and stopped at the Rifugio della Rocca, a charming small restaurant and hotel with a simple, rustic and cozy interior. If you take the bus this would be a lovely place to spend the night. Sheep graze on the hillsides around and the villagers cultivate lentils and saffron in the valley below.

Rifugio della Rocca, Calascio

Interior of Rifugio della Rocca

The Church of Santa Maria della Pietà

Reva, an American girl who is working her way around Italy, joined us for this tour. She also has an interesting blog about her travels called Here’s to Italy. Together we hiked from the village following a rocky path towards the impressive white limestone fortress. The day was sunny and hot 32C (96F) with incredibly clear blue skies. Halfway up the hill we passed the beautiful octagonal church of Santa Maria della Pietà standing on a solitary plateau.


Santa Maria della Pieta with the Corno Grande in the background

It was built between the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Rocca Calascio was the property of the Medicis. The door of the church was open and being curious we headed towards it eager to see how it looked inside. We considered ourselves fortunate as Daniele said that it was usually closed. Alas, there was a private ceremony taking place and we were not allowed to enter. John however got a chance to take this quick photo of the interior from the doorway with his phone.

Interior of Santa Maria della Pieta

The Fortress of Calascio

A little history: At 1460m above sea level the Rocca Calascio is the highest and one of the oldest fortresses in Italy. It was built as a single watchtower in the tenth century for military purposes. There is a walled courtyard with four cylindrical towers at the corners. A taller inner tower was added in the thirteenth century. It was badly damaged by an earthquake centuries ago and never rebuilt so now only the exterior walls remain. Even though it is in ruins it still looks imposing. This drawing by Silvio Germano shows how the Rocca Calascio would have looked in the thirteenth century…

Before getting to the drawbridge you have to climb over a very stony patch and there is no rail to hold on to.

We wandered through the fortress and the wonderful weather provided us with clear views for miles over the magnificent terrain: Campo Imperatore, the Navelli plain and the majestic Gran Sasso Mountains. The absolute silence, the immensity of the surroundings and the high mountains create magical views from the top of the fortress. The atmosphere here is of the Medieval Ages, a place between reality, fantasy and imagination, silence and solitude.

The Rocca Calascio in the province of L’Aquila is one of the most magical places in Abruzzo and this entire day made wishes come true for me. If you are looking for a guide we highly recommend Daniele. He is enthusiastic, friendly and generous and delighted to share his intensive knowledge of the region with visitors. Let yourself be carried away by the Rocca Calascio, its history and the beauty of its breathtaking landscape.

Further reading:
The Spectacular Castle, Rocca Calascio by Tatiana of Italian Slow Walks
Filmed in Abruzzo and Rocca Calascio by Bodach of About Abruzzo
An Italian Fort Worth a Walk To by Sammy of Life in Abruzzo
Getting to Calascio by Christina of Searching for Calascio

The town of Capestrano, Abruzzo

The dramatically perched hilltown of Capestrano

Capestrano is a stunningly picturesque town of only 960 people in the province of L’Aquila in the Abruzzo region. It encapsulates everything I love about small town Italy. The people there are so friendly, especially to visitors who are few and far between. Hospitality, warmth and time is something they have in abundance. They make you feel so welcome and are proud to show off their area. It has wonderful restaurants, a fabulous gelateria and café called Bar Tagliente in the main piazza, churches, a monastery, an abbey, a gorgeous lake and a beautiful lofty towered castle atop the hill overlooking the town! It is set in a perfect location, 40km west of Chieti, on the edge of the Gran Sasso National Park, 160km east of Rome and only a 25 minute drive from the Adriatic coast.

Wide angle view of Capestrano

Photo credit: Giuliano Bianchini - Flickr

From its elevated position, this dramatically perched hilltown, 500m above sea level, gives spectacular views down the striking Tirino valley, dotted with aged olive and almond trees. The town is known not only for the Capestrano Warrior, but also for being the birthplace of the famous Franciscan monk Saint John of Capestrano (1386-1456) after whom the town was named. Incidentally, the town is twinned with San Juan Capistrano in California. (They spell it a little differently). In walking distance from the pretty main piazza is the magnificent monastery of St Francis erected by Saint John of Capestrano dating back to 1400.

Photo of  the St Francis Monastery from Wikipedia

The majestic Capestrano castle was built in the 13th century, next to the Tirino River and the Abbey of St. Peter ad Oratorium. I’ve translated some of the history relating to the castle from the website www.comunedicapestrano.it. The first document that refers to the name of Capestrano dates back to 1284, when King Charles I of Sicily gave the castle to Riccardo d’Acquaviva, the marquis of Capestrano. In 1462 the castle passed on to Antonio Piccolomini, nephew of Pope Pius II, who enlarged the castle with new towers and battlements. By 1579 the castle was known by its official title ‘Piccolomini Castle’. Then it was sold to the Grand Duke of Tuscany and in 1743 was owned by the King of Naples. In 1860 it passed on to the Savoys.

Capestrano Castle

These days, Capestrano castle is the headquarters for the mayor of the town and as a result it’s very well preserved and is the site for many of Capestrano’s annual festivals. Admission is free – which I think is unusual in Italy. My friend Gianluigi once quipped that: ‘Only the air in Italy is free’!

Piazza del Mercato, Capestrano

The elegant baroque ‘Piazza del Mercato’ has lovely little shops, restaurants, a beautiful parish church - Santa Maria della Pace - and even an Irish pub called The Highlander! This scenic town has an interesting juxtaposition of medieval and renaissance architecture.

I took my pictures on a balmy August evening as the sun was throwing its golden mellow light across the rolling landscape and the soft shadows of the buildings were beginning to lengthen. We had a lovely stroll around the cobbled, steep medieval streets with their narrow winding alleyways, before touring the charming castle, monastery and its beautiful frescoed cloister.

Statue of St John of Capestrano and frescoes in the cloister

In the vicinity of Capestrano you can also visit the charming Romanesque church of San Pietro ad Oratorium (1100) and admire the sparkling, clear waters of pretty Lago di Capo d’Acqua.

Recommended restaurants in the area are: Ristorante San Giovanni in the main Piazza del Mercato and in the nearby village of Preciano, Ristorante La Sorgente, Via Presciani, 36 (which serves trout and freshwater shrimp from the Tirino River).

*Update: For a more detailed and interesting account of Piccolomini Castle and its history have a look at Tatiana's post on her Italian Slow Walks blog - a beautiful blog with wonderful photos and descriptions of special places in Abruzzo.

** Another interesting post about Capestrano with great photos can be found on Bodach's excellent blog About Abruzzo.

My other post about Capestrano: Mid-August Lunch in Capestrano

Anyone who is fascinated by art, history, architecture, beautiful landscape, regional foods and folk traditions will love this idyllic town of Capestrano! To end, here is a little slideshow that I made of the town:





How to get to Capestrano:
By Bus: ARPA L'Aquila/Pescara, (only a few times during the day)
By Car: A24, exit L'Aquila, or A25, exit Bussi, then SS 17 L'Aquila-Pescara

Mid-August Lunch in Capestrano

Italians have perfected the art of eating al fresco. I think that food eaten outdoors always tastes so much better. Our friends have relatives who live on a farm in Capestrano in the fertile valley of the Tirino River (about 30k west of Chieti)  and we had a most memorable lunch there to celebrate Ferragosto. This post demonstates the generous hospitality of the people of Capestrano. Here’s how it went:

A small three-wheeled vehicle known as an Ape (pronounced ah-pay), along with a tractor and trailer provided transportation from the farmhouse for the food, water, wine, extra chairs, (lovely) tablecloths…and the children! They chose a perfect spot for the lunch under the shade of a large old olive tree, surrounded by the majestic Gran Sasso mountains, the crops and the vineyard. The trailer was used as an extension to the main table as there were 18 of us. We helped set the table and lit citronella candles to keep the flying bugs away.Ubaldo is a small farmer and also tends a vineyard where he produces enough wine for everyday use for his family and friends. One of the wines for the lunch was a crisp, white Trebbiano that went well with the starters. The other was a robust red Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that complimented the meat dish perfectly. Everything we ate was either grown on the farm or homemade (apart from the rice salad that our friends brought along). The people of Abruzzo have ancient food traditions; their dishes are simple and characterized by genuine foods, rich in taste and aroma.

For the antipasto we had grilled sweet corn on the cob. (You can see the cornfields in the background.) The primo consisted of the rice salad, with bruschetta drenched in homemade olive oil alongside grilled red peppers. The home-grown tomatoes were so flavorsome.This was followed by a traditional Abruzzo meat dish called ‘arrosticini’ for the secondo. It is probably one of the simplest and tastiest examples of Italian-style grilled pieces of lamb on skewers. You eat it in your hands and use your teeth to slide the meat off the skewer piece by piece. A special long narrow grill called a ‘fornacella’ was used to cook the lamb. It is a local invention that can only be found in Abruzzo. (Arrosticini can also be cooked on a regular charcoal grill.)To cleanse our palates after the meat we had a delicious slice of chilled watermelon. The dolce consisted of traditional Abruzzo type waffles called Pizzelle. They have a flower design instead of a squared pattern and have the excellent light taste of a crispy vanilla flavored biscuit. Two of them were sandwiched together with Nutella and they were relished by both children and adults alike. To me, one of the nicest things about long warm summer days is being able to enjoy good food, good wine and good company - all'aperto - in the open air!

My other post about Capestrano: The town of Capestrano

Update:
After writing this blog post I discovered an Italian movie about the same subject and I just had to see it; but what a very different pranzo it was! If you like Italian comedies you will love this one. It was absolutely delightful!


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Pranzo di Ferragosto in Abruzzo
Gli italiani hanno perfezionato l’arte di mangiare al fresco. Penso che quando il cibo e' mangiato all’aperto il gusto è sempre migliore. I nostri amici hanno dei parenti che abitano in una fattoria a Capestrano nella valle del fiume Tirino (circa 30k a ovest di Chieti)e abbiamo avuto lì un pranzo di ferragosto indimenticabile. Ecco com’è andata…

Un piccolo veicolo a tre ruote chiamata un Ape ed un trattore con rimorchio, trasportavano dalla casa colonica il cibo, l’acqua, il vino, le sedie, le (bellissime) tovaglie...ed i bambini! Avevano scelto un bel posto sotto l’ombra di un vecchio albero d’ulivo per il pranzo, circondato del maestoso Gran Sasso, i raccolti dei campi ed il vigneto. Il rimorchio era usato come una seconda tavola, perchè eravamo in 18. Aiutavamo ad apparecchiare la tavola ed accendevamo le candele di citronella come insettifugo.
Ubaldo è un piccolo agricoltore che gestisce anche un vigneto dove produce abbastanza vino per l’uso quotidiano della sua famiglia ed i suoi amici. Uno dei vini per il pranzo era un Trebbiano, frizzante e bianco che andava bene con l’antipasto. L’altro vino era un rosso e robusto Montepulciano d’Abruzzo che si completava con la carne perfettamente. Tutto ciò che mangiavamo, proveniva dalla sua fattoria o era fatto a mano (a parte l’insalata di riso che i nostri amici ci portavano). Le montagne abruzzese hanno una gastronomia tanto antica, quanto semplice, caratterizzata da alimentari genuine e piatti ricchi di sapori e profumi.

Per l’antipasto avevamo le pannocchie di mais alla griglia. (Si puo' vedere i campi di grano sullo sfondo.) Il primo era composto dall’insalata di riso con bruschetta inzuppava con l’olio di oliva fatto in casa, e con i pepperoni rossi grigliati. I pomodori locali avevano un gusto meraviglioso. Per il secondo mangiavamo gli ‘arrosticini’; essi sono degli spiedini di carne d’agnello, tipici della cucina tradizionale abruzzese. La preparazione consiste in carne ovina tagliata a tocchetti ed infilata in spiedini, la cui cottura avviene su un braciere dalla caratteristica forma allungata definito ‘fornacella’. Si mangia con le mani e si usano i denti per togliere la carne dallo spiedino. (Si possono arrostire gli arrosticini anche sul barbeque).
(La foto sopra e' da Wikipedia)

Per pulire i palati dopo la carne, mangiavamo una fetta d’anguria servita fresca. Come dolce c’erano le pizzelle, leggeri e croccanti biscotti d’Abruzzzo. Sono ottime dal gusto molto delicato. C’è un disegno di fiori all’esterno. Avevamo due biscotti inseriva con Nutella e li apprezzavano sia i bambini sia gli adulti.

Secondo me, una delle cose più belle dei giorni lunghi e caldi d’estate è di poter godere del buon cibo, del buon vino e della gioia di essere in buona compagnia -- all'aperto!

The Warrior of Capestrano, Chieti

Visitors to the National Archaeological Museum in Chieti today hoping to see the famous limestone statue of The Warrior of Capestrano (Il Guerriero di Capestrano) were astonished to find that it had been removed from its plinth. The priceless statue was taken from the museum early this morning without the permission of the mayor of Chieti, Francesco Ricci.

This renowned artifact dates from the 6th century BC. I had been researching this statue for my blog post as I was very impressed when I saw it in August 2007. I was astounded to read about its removal, on an Italian news website today. (Primadanoi.it)

This statue was first discovered in 1934 by Michele Castagna, a farmer who was digging in his vineyard near Capestrano. It has since become the recognized symbol of the Abruzzo region. The imposing sculpture standing at 2.09m is believed to be the funeral effigy of King Nevio Pompuledio, leader of the Vestini tribe in Abruzzo.

It has supports on both sides and is mounted on a plinth. The inscription on one of the supports (written in South-Picene dialect) bears his name - King Nevio Pompuledio.

He wears a mask and decorative headgear and is dressed in armor protecting his chest and back: a wide belt encircles his waist; he carries a short sword, knife and axe; he also wears a necklace, armlets and a pair of sandals. He is considered the embodiment of the Italic warrior.

Apparently Silvio Berlusconi wanted this precious masterpiece at the G8 headquarters near l’Aquila as a room decoration to impress Barack Obama and the other world leaders. The G8 is due to take place next week in a police barracks in Coppito near L’Aquila from 8-10 July. The mayor of Chieti announced just yesterday that the warrior wouldn't be moved from the museum, because of the risks of transportation as well as the risk of aftershocks in l'Aquila; but this morning the statue was taken away at 8.30am.

The act of moving an extremely fragile, 2,600 year old statue from a museum just to use as a room adornment seems reckless to me. Why couldn’t they have used a replica? Two perfect copies already exist (made from plaster) one in the Museum of Roman Civilization in Rome and another one in Capestrano castle! Although the original statue appears in good condition, the legs and feet of the warrior are already fragile and in fact metal inserts have been used to repair fractures. The 65cm circular warrior's headgear is detachable, so there is a chance that it may break. The risk of damage to this precious statue is great.

Let’s hope that this old warrior is returned safe and sound as soon as possible to the Archaeological Museum in Chieti…

NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF ABRUZZO
VILLA COMUNALE CHIETI
Tel: +039 0871 331668 – +039 0871 330955.

Opening times: 9-18.30 every day

Admission: 4 Euros; free for under eighteen and over sixty
Free for students and teachers

Photos courtesy of www.musei.abruzzo.it


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Il Guerriero di Capestrano 

I visitatori al Museo Archeologico a Chieti che oggi, 4 luglio, hanno voluto ammirare la statua celebrativa del Guerriero di Capestrano sono stati sorpresi di scoprire che la scultura era scomparsa.

L’inestimabile statua di pietra calcare è stata portata via dal museo stamattina presto, senza il permesso del sindaco di Chieti, Francesco Ricci. (Primadanoi.it)

Questa statua, databile del VI secolo AC, fu ritrovata nel 1934 da Michele Castagna, durante i lavori agricoli per l’impianto di una vigna nella località Capestrano. Essa raffigura un guerriero dell’antico popolo italico dei Piceni – il Re Nevio Pompuledio.

In costume militare con le braccia ripiegate sul petto, l’altezza della statua senza la base raggiunge 2,09m. La testa è protetta da un elmo che copre le orecchie e da una maschera sul volto. Porta una spada, ed un pugnale appesi davanti al petto, mentre con la destra regge una piccola ascia. Gli ornamenti sono costituiti da una collana rigida con pendaglio e da bracciali sugli avambracci. Il copricapo, caratteristico con le sue larghe tese (65cm) che lo fanno assomigliare ad un sombrero, è stato interpretato come un elmo da parata.

La figura poggia su un piedistallo ed è sorretta da due pilastrini laterali, sui quali sono incise delle lance. Su un sostegno vi è un’iscrizione in lingua Sud-Picena con il nome del Re Pompuledio. Oggi costituisce un capolavoro di ineguagliabile valore artistico e storico ed e' il simbolo riconosciuto dell’Abruzzo.

Silvio Berlusconi ha voluto avere questa statua come decorazione per la sala del G8. La direttrice del museo a Chieti ha ribadito le sue perlessità sul suo trasferimento a causa della fragilità della statua. La vulnerabilità del reperto è dovuta alla natura delicata della pietra calcare con la quale è stata realizzata, come per i punti di frattura presenti alle gambe e alle caviglie …e all’Aquila i pericoli eventuali del sisma sono ancora in atto…

Oltretutto, era disponibile due copie perfette dell’originale - uno nel museo della Civiltà Romana a Roma e l'altro a Castello Piccolomini, in grado di suscitare altrettanto interesse e ammirazione!

Spero che restituiscano il Guerriero di Capestrano al museo a Chieti al più presto ed in buone condizioni…incrociamo le dita per questo antico guerriero…