Abruzzo, Italy. Spectacular landscapes
2022
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2018
L'Aquila
L'Aquila (IPA: / ˈlakwila /, pronunciation, formerly Aquila until 1863 and Aquila degli Abruzzi until 1939) is an Italian town of 69 284 inhabitants, capital of the province of the same name and of the Abruzzo region. The city is located in the Abruzzo hinterland on the slope of a hill to the left of the Aterno river, in a predominant position with respect to the Gran Sasso massif, the homonymous basin and the Aterno valley, on an area of 467 km² which make it the ninth largest municipality in Italy. Divided into 59 districts and hamlets, part of its territory is included in the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga national park and reaches over 2,000 meters above sea level.
2023
Fara San Martino, Chieti. San Martino in Valle Abbey
The abbey of San Martino in Valle is a ruined Benedictine abbey near the Gole di Fara San Martino in Fara San Martino in the province of Chieti. The first historical sources on the Church located inside the Castle of Rocca S. Martino date back to 829 which list it among the possessions of the monastery of Santo Stefano in Lucania of Tornareccio, to which it had been donated by Pepin the Short. In 844 it passed under the control of the bishop of Spoleto and subsequently among the possessions of the abbey of San Liberatore a Majella. In 1044 the Theatine count Credindeo on his deathbed and for the redemption of his soul and his loved ones (recalling the capitulars of the Longobard king Liutprando) donated the church to the venerable priest Isberto so that he could endow it with an independent Benedictine monastery. In 1172 it became part of the diocese of Chieti. In 1222 Pope Honorius II confirmed the donation of Count Credindeo. The monastery was suppressed in 1452 by Pope Nicholas V and united with the Vatican Chapter, to return in 1789 to the archdiocese of Chieti. The definitive abandonment of the monastery took place on 8 September 1818 due to a flood that covered it with debris. The first excavations for its recovery took place in 1891, but only with those of 2009 were the remains of the structure fully brought to light. The remains of the abbey show a gate to an internal courtyard bordered by a three-arched portico, on the north side of which is a bell gable. The interior of the church had to have three naves with stone slab flooring. A wall with three arches separates the central nave from the northern one, from where one enters what must have been the initial nucleus of the church, dug into the rock, which suggests the birth of the place of worship as a hermitage.
2025
The Orfento Gorge, Caramanico Terme
The Orfento Valley is undoubtedly one of the most evocative places in the Maiella National Park: the clear water, the small waterfalls, the sound of the river and nature make the walk a unique experience.
The trail begins with a wide view of the gorge from above and then descends into the lush river vegetation with intense and wonderful colors. The route is made even more evocative by a continuous succession of small clearings, waterfalls, and wooden bridges that repeatedly cross the river.
The Orfento Gorge was the reserve where, in the 1980s, deer and roe deer were reintroduced for the first time, now present throughout the Maiella National Park.
The world's leading scientific journal, Nature, has used this valley as a global example of its rich biodiversity.
Nearby are ancient hermitages, silent guardians of faith and time, such as the hermitage of San Giovanni all'Orfento. These sacred places, nestled in the rock and surrounded by greenery, were a refuge for saints and hermits, including Pope Celestine V, who found spirituality and solitude in these valleys. Their echoes still resonate through the woods and gorges, giving those who walk there a sense of profound peace and connection with something eternal. An ancestral call that transforms the valley into a true natural sanctuary for the soul.
Woods and mountains are natural medicine. Walking in nature helps us combat many ailments linked to a hectic and stressful lifestyle. Our simple walks are a way to get closer to nature, while also providing educational insights into the wonders of Abruzzo.
2017
Opi (AQ)
Opi (Opjë IPA: [ˈopjə], in Opian dialect) is a town of about 408 inhabitants in the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo. Its medieval village is included in the protected area of the national park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise. It is one of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
The town is located in the middle of the mountainous group of the Marsicani Mountains, in the center of a mountainous amphitheater formed to the north-east by Monte Marsicano (2,245 m asl) and to the south-east by Monte Amaro (1,862 m) and Monte Petroso (2,249 m asl) . The main watercourse that crosses the municipal territory is the Sangro river that rises on the slopes of Mount Morrone del Diavolo (1,602 m a.s.l.), in the locality of Gioia Vecchio di Gioia dei Marsi. The Sangro, after crossing a flat area called Le Prata, enters a gorge between the Opi hill (1,250 m a.s.l.) and Monte Marrone (1,354 m a.s.l.) from where it continues its path along the upper Sangro valley.
The Fondillo stream, one of the first tributaries of the Sangro river, which gives its name to the valley of the same name, arises from one of the numerous karst springs present in the Opiano territory. The rugged nature of the wooded mountains has allowed the survival of a rich and varied fauna.
2024
Celano and the Fucino Plain
Celano is a splendid town in Abruzzo, overlooking the Fucino plain, composed of a medieval village which in the upper part still preserves the Castle dating back to the 14th century.
2021
National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise
The national park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise is one of the oldest national parks in Italy, officially established on 11 January 1923 by Royal decree-law including for the most part in the province of L'Aquila and the remainder in that of Frosinone and in that of Isernia.
2021
Borrello
Borrello (Burièlle in Abruzzo) is an Italian town of 326 inhabitants in the province of Chieti in Abruzzo. It is part of the mountain community of Medio Sangro. The municipality of Borrello, as also handed down by Benedetto Croce, was a fief of the Borrello family: the Abruzzo philosopher claims to have found a document from the year 1000 that would suggest a certain dominion of this family already at the end of the 18th century. In fact, the news is also confirmed by the most ancient historical sources, consulted and collected in the eighteenth century by Anton Ludovico Antinori for the drafting of his Annali degli Abruzzi, in which the progenitor of the dynasty, a certain Borrello from whom the Castle then took its name and he perpetuated it over the centuries, he would have been a Frankish leader descended from the Counts of the Marsi. Croce, on the other hand, states that the family descends from some exponent of the Borel family of French origin. At the beginning of the 20th century, many of the country's inhabitants emigrated to the United States and northern Europe. After the bombing of the Second World War the city was completely rebuilt.
2020
L'Aquila. Church of Santa Maria del Suffragio - 2019
Built starting in 1713 for the victims of the earthquake of 1703, it is the symbol of the eighteenth-century reconstruction of the city and represents the maximum expression of the religious architecture of L'Aquila in the eighteenth century.
2023
Sulmona. Church of San Filippo Neri
The construction of the church and oratory of San Filippo Neri began in the mid-17th century and was completed in 1677. However, in the beginning the congregation was based - together with that of the Jesuit Fathers - in the church of Sant'Ignazio , located in Piazza XX Settembre and no longer existing today; only later did it move to Piazza Maggiore - the current Piazza Garibaldi - within the lively and populous Borgo Pacentrano. The earthquake of 1706 forced a reconstruction of the complex, which Baron Giambattista Mazara magnanimously took charge of between 1785 and 1794, deserving the commemorative plaque placed on the right wall of the church; the adjoining convent had to assume considerable decorum, so much so that in 1796 it was even able to host King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon on a visit to the city. In 1799, with the suppression of the Filipino order, the Fathers left the city and the sacred building, abandoned and reduced to profane use, was transformed into an oven and also used for military purposes. Likewise, the oratory, confiscated by the Royal Property, had various uses and today is the headquarters of the Command of the Guardia di Finanza. Only in 1920 did the church regain its religious use, becoming the seat of the parish of Sant'Agata. From here the traditional demonstration of the Madonna fleeing into the square begins on Easter morning, the joyful conclusion of Holy Week in Sulmona.
2020
L'Aquila. Basilica of Santa M. di Collemaggio - 2019
The Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio is a religious building in L'Aquila, located just outside the city walls, on the homonymous hill. Founded in 1288 at the behest of Pietro da Morrone - here crowned pope with the name of Celestino V on 29 August 1294 - it is considered the highest expression of Abruzzo architecture as well as the symbol of the city and was declared a national monument in 1902. It is the seat of an annual jubilee, the first in history, established with the Bull of Forgiveness of September 29, 1294 and known as the Celestinian forgiveness. Inside there are the mortal remains of the Holy Pontiff Celestine V.