Sulmona. Church of San Filippo Neri

2023

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.

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Sulmona (formerly Sulmo, Sulmóne in Abruzzo) is an Italian town of 24 076 inhabitants in the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo. It is the third most populous municipality in the province (behind L'Aquila and Avezzano) and the eleventh in the region. Located in the heart of Abruzzo, close to the Majella National Park, Sulmona is known worldwide for its centuries-old tradition in the production of sugared almonds. It is also the bishopric of the homonymous diocese Sulmona-Valva. Formerly oppidum of the Peligni, later a Roman municipality, in 43 BC. Sulmo was the birthplace of the Latin poet Publio Ovidio Nasone. In the Middle Ages, by the will of Frederick II, it was from 1233 to 1273 the seat of the execution of Abruzzo. It is among the cities decorated with military valor for the war of liberation, awarded the Silver Medal for the sacrifices of its populations and for its activity in the partisan struggle during the Second World War.

Villalago (AQ) - Hermitage of S. Domenico

The hermitage of San Domenico is a small church, located in the territory of the municipality of Villalago (AQ), in the Sagittario valley, on the shore of the homonymous Lake of San Domenico. It includes a cave dug into the limestone, in which according to tradition, around the year 1000 the Benedictine monk San Domenico lived. San Domenico came from Sora, and was housed in the Benedictine monastery of San Pietro de Lacu, which has now disappeared; later he also went to nearby Cocullo, where he healed a girl bitten by a snake. At the road he also tamed a wolf, who had kidnapped an infant from the cradle, while his parents were chopping wood in the woods. And the miracle will be reproduced on votive canvases on the porch of the hermitage. The actual hermitage was built around the fifteenth century, when the cult of St. Dominic spread. Before the construction of the dam and the consequent formation of the lake, in 1929, the hermitage had a different exterior, with a mullioned portico and a recessed facade with a large window, and was accessible from a medieval bridge in a serious state of conservation. With the dam, the new stone bridge was built in a fake medieval style and the facade of the hermitage was rebuilt.

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Alfedena Castle is the ruin of a castle dating back to the 10th-11th century in the Italian municipality of the same name of which an octagonal tower and parts of the walls remain. The ruins are located in a dominant position over the town, along Via Luigi De Amicis. The wall rests its foundations directly on the rocky thickness of the mountain hill overlooking Alfedena, has an irregular circular appearance, with multiple layers of walls, and double curtain walls with fornix-shaped entrances are preserved. The tower, although cut off at the top, is the best preserved element. The castle was founded around the 10th century by the Frankish lords, who divided the county of Marsi between them. In fact, Alfedena was among these possessions and, on top of the castle hill, a fortified tower was built, which communicated with those of the other villages, such as Scontrone, Castel di Sangro and Barrea. The tower with an irregular plan was rebuilt in the 13th century, as demonstrated by the octagonal structure, perhaps before it had a cylindrical base, the fact is that it testifies to the ancient function of the castle, which was that of lookout, guarding the town below, developed from the 14th century onwards, and together with the fortified enclosure, it also served as a shelter for citizens during periods of emergency, such as sieges. In the 14th century it was a fiefdom of Simone Di Sangro, the rich family from the Peligna valley, who had various fiefdoms, only to then pass to Giacomo Caldora in 1422. In 1456 a serious earthquake damaged the castle, which slowly lost the ancient central function of Alfedena, given that the main political and economic activities developed further and further downstream, along the Pescasseroli-Candela sheep track. The castle was enfeoffed during the Spanish viceroyalty to various lords, but it never returned to its ancient functions, it was damaged again by the Maiella earthquake of 1706, then by the earthquakes of 1915 (Marsica earthquake) and 1984, being restored only in the first years 2000, to be visited as a panoramic location, together with the octagonal tower.

Celano and the Fucino Plain

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Scanno (Scannë in Abruzzo) is an Italian town of 1 883 inhabitants located in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo. The municipal territory, surrounded by the Marsicani Mountains, is partly included within the borders of the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise and is in turn part of the Peligna mountain community. It is an important winter and summer resort and is part of the club The most beautiful villages in Italy. In the surroundings there are the homonymous lake, which however belongs for three quarters to the municipality of Villalago, the ski resorts of Passo Godi and Monte Rotondo, the plateaus of Monte Greco and Lake Pantaniello, as well as the natural reserve of the Sagittario Gorges. Scanno is also known as the City of Photographers; a place much appreciated by many Italian and foreign authors. Throughout the twentieth century, its unmistakable views and its people were the subjects of many famous shots taken by Hilde Lotz-Bauer, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Mario Giacomelli, Renzo Tortelli, Gianni Berengo Gardin, Ferdinando Scianna, Mario Cresci and many others . In 1964 it was a photograph taken in Scanno by Mario Giacomelli that became part of the prestigious collection of photographic works of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This image is known as The Scanno Boy, or Scanno Boy.

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