Rocca Calascio

Abruzzo is a land full of beautiful places immersed in uncontaminated nature, one of these is Rocca Calascio, located in Calascio in the province of L’Aquila.

Once arrived at the site it’s impossible not to be astounded in front of the castle located at 1.460 meters above sea level, this feature makes it one of the highest villages in Italy. But not only, at its feet there is also a wonderful deserted medieval village.

Background

It is thought that the castle was built around the year 1000, but the first historical document that mentions Rocca Calascio dates back to 1380. Originally the structure of the castle consisted of a single square tower made of hewn stone and was used as a sighting tower.

Additions were made after the fifteenth century, a circle of fortified walls and then the four towers that are cylindrical. Considering the growing economic importance of the fortress, at his feet a small village grew surrounded by boundary walls too. In 1579 the castle was bought by the Medici family.

While in 1703 there was a disastrous earthquake which caused many damage to the structures, as a result of that many people moved thus abandoning the highest area of the village, helping to create the village of Calascio. Unfortunately in the twentieth century the village was completely abandoned, only at the end of the century many structures have been renovated.

Places to visit

Going to Rocca Calascio, the places to visit are:

• The castle. This consists entirely of white limestone and was built for military use, in fact it is positioned in a very favorable area if you think of a defensive tactic. Its current structure consists of a square ground, in the corners there are the very leaning four cylindrical towers with circular base and in the center a male square tower.

• The village, is located south-west of the castle and was connected to it via a wooden drawbridge, but now there is a simple ramp.

• The church of Santa Maria della Pietà, built between the sixteenth and seventeenth century, is located near the fortress right on the path that leads to Santo Stefano di Sessanio.

Movie set

Rocca Calascio was used as the setting for several films, among which Lady Hawke in 1985, The Name of the Rose in 1986 and the RAI series Padre Pio in 2006.