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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Fara San Martino. The Gorges of San Martino

the Gole di San Martino opens with a narrow passage from the high rocky walls on the eastern slope of the Maiella, just outside the town of Fara. This is the beginning of the gorge-like valley that leads to the highest peak of the Maiella, Monte Amaro (2793 m), and includes the wildest territories of the entire massif with a 14 km long route and a difference in height of 2300 m . It can be divided into three parts: the Valle di S. Spirito, the Valle di Macchia Lunga and the Val Cannella. The latter ends with a glacial cirque in the center of which is the Manzini refuge. According to popular tradition, these suggestive gorges, just 2 m wide and about 30 m long, were opened by San Martino with the strength of his arms to allow the people of Fares to access the high pastures of the Majella more quickly. After walking a few meters, you can see the monastery of San Martino in Valle which an archaeological excavation has recently brought to light. In reality, this remarkable scenario was produced by the erosive and incessant action of the torrential waters coming from the melting of the surrounding snowfields during the Quaternary, in particular during the glaciations. With an evident franapoggio stratification that highlights the oldest terms as you go up, the oldest rocks of the Maiella emerge here, represented by beige-hazelnut platform limestones dating back to the lower Cretaceous. They contain fossil remains of algae and benthic foraminifera. Near the monastery, it is possible to observe an outcrop full of rudists, lamellibranchs who build cliffs now extinct but clearly visible in Maiella on Cima Murelle.

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Celano. Church of San Michele Arcangelo

The construction of the Church of San Michele Arcangelo dates back to the 14th century. At the end of the 14th century the Counts of Celano donated it to the congregation of the Celestine monks

Caporciano (AQ) S. Maria di Centurelli

The church is located in the fork between the tratturo L'Aquila-Foggia and the tratturo Centurelle-Montesecco, making it a strategic structure in the period in which transhumance played a fundamental role in the economy of southern Italy.

Alfedena. Church of Saints Peter and Paul

Church of Saints Peter and Paul (13th century), is located in the western part of the town, in Largo Don Filippo Brunetti, is characterized by a Romanesque-inspired façade (13th century), was restored following the damage of the Second World War. The interior of the church is the result of the reconstruction in 1954. The large mosaics on the facade and inside were created by Fausto Conti in the 1950s.

Lanciano. Seat of the Eucharistic Miracle

The church of S. Francesco or sanctuary of the Eucharistic Miracle is annexed to the homonymous convent of the Friars Conventual. It contains the famous relics of the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano.

Rio Verde waterfalls

Borrello, Chieti, Abruzzo. The Regional Nature Reserve and the WWF OASIS Cascate del Verde. It is a protected natural area of Abruzzo, established in 2001, which covers an area of approximately 287 hectares.

Sulmona. Complex of the Santissima Annunziata.

The Santissima Annunziata complex is the most famous and representative monument of the city of Sulmona, declared a national monument in 1902. The main entrance to the complex is on the Annunziata square although other interesting visual glimpses of the building, especially for architectural interest, are admirable from the adjacent streets, via Pantaleo and via Paolina. The church, founded in 1320 by the confraternity of the Compenitenti together with the annexed hospital, does not retain traces of the original construction, both due to the damage suffered in the earthquake of 1456 and due to the architectural transformation interventions which radically modified the original structure of the sixteenth century. Furthermore, another ruinous seismic event, that of 1706, led to a new, important reconstruction intervention which gave the church a Baroque appearance, with an imposing façade with two orders of columns, the work of Maestro Norberto Cicco from Pescocostanzo ( 1710). The interior is divided into three naves and is covered with stuccos. Among the paintings that embellish the church are the frescoes by Giambattista Gamba on the vaults and the canvases on the side altars, among which the Pentecost of 1598 by a Florentine master and the Communion of the Apostles by Alessandro Salini stands out for their quality. The apse instead presents two works by Giuseppe Simonelli, a pupil of Luca Giordano, the Nativity and the Presentation in the temple and an Annunciation by Lazzaro Baldi, a Tuscan artist who was a pupil of Pietro da Cortona. The choir, in wood, was made by the local artist Bartolomeo Balcone between 1577 and 1579, while the part underneath the organs, in a vaguely rococo style, in carved and gilded wood, is by Ferdinando Mosca. The organs, on the other hand, are the one on the left side by Tommaso Cefalo di Vasto (1749) and the one on the right side was built by the Fedeli di Camerino in 1753. At the end of the right aisle is the altar of the Virgin, in polychrome marble, a work partly executed by the Roman artist Giacomo Spagna (1620), with subsequent contributions by artists from Pescocostanzo. On the right side, shortly after the entrance, there is the tomb of Panfilo Serafini, a Sulmona patriot who died in 1864. The sacristy has carved furniture dating back to 1643 with a series of sacred furnishings from the Baroque era and Neapolitan-made silverware; there are numerous pieces from the church that are placed on display in the local Civic Museum. The bell tower (built between 1565 and 1590, imposing, just over 65 meters high, has a square plan with sides of 7.20 m; it is built on two floors with a pyramidal spire and 4 mullioned windows on each floor. It is the bell tower and tallest tower in Abruzzo.The church was reopened for worship in December 2012 after three years of closure due to the 2009 earthquake.

Manoppello. Abbey of Santa Maria Arabona

Santa Maria de Arabona is an abbey dating back to the end of the 12th century located in the hamlet of the same name in the municipality of Manoppello (PE), declared a national monument in 1902.

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