Abruzzo doesn’t only mean charming landscapes and deliscious dishes and wines. Fiction and reality meet in the heart of Parco Nazionale Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga.
ph: Mattia Orsi @_sibilla91_
Would you like to live the exciting experience of time travel? How about feeling like an actor on a movie set just for one day?
Don’t worry, you need no script at all, a pair of hiking shoes and Abruzzo will be enough!
For instance, at 1460 metres high, stands the majestic white Castle of Rocca Calascio, famous for being the highest of Italy.
It was built in the 12th century, and for its strategical location it granted easy military communication and good protection from the near lands. In 1500 it became property of the Medici family. However, In 1703 a violent earthquake devasted it but at the end of 1900 it was rebuilt.
Nonetheless, its extroardinary beauty caught the attention of famous film directors in the 80s, choosing the Castle as a movie set. Have you ever heard about films such as “Ladyhawke” and “The Name of the Rose”? Indeed! Probably very few people know that many scenes of these two great classics take place in Rocca Calascio.
Thus, thanks to the films, the Castle became more and more well-known and together with other medieval villages came to be one of the most popular Italian tourist attractions.
ph: Mattia Orsi @_sibilla91_Arriving to the so named “La Rocca” is easy and totally free. We suggest to walk all the way to the Castle. You’ll have the chance to enjoy Santo Stefano di Sessanio and S. Maria della Pietà church.
Walking through the silent Castle is simple and totally free.
The recommended route’s protagonists are the suggestive church of S. Maria della Pietà and the most enchanting pearl near L’Aquila: Santo Stefano di Sessanio.
No wonder that the famous magazine National Geographic, as a result, listed Rocca Calascio as one of the 15th most beautiful castles in the world.
For this reason, this landscape full of magic and mistery will leave you completely breathless.
Rocca Calscio is located just one hour and a half by car from Roseto degli Abruzzi (ca. 100 km ).
