Located inside the Gran Sasso National Park and Monti della Laga, constitutes one of the most evocative fortifications in Italy and beyond. National Geographic has listed it among the fifteen most beautiful castles in the world. Its history, the small village that surrounds it and the fascinating view of the Apennine mountains have made it a suitable place for different film shooting. His name is Rocca Calascio, an ancient and disarming Abruzzo beauty to be discovered.
History
When was it born and why. Two questions that are quite simple to answer. In fact, it is enough to observe structure and position to understand that it is a medieval fortress with a control function. Built between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, probably following the Norman conquest, the structure first saw the construction of a quadrangular tower with a sighting function.
It was no coincidence that it stood a 1460 meters of height becoming a strategic place for military observations as well as a communication point for the castles of the Adriatic. Only in a second period were four o'clock born circular base towers, placed at the corners of the central male, in addition to the crenellated walls along the perimeter. Access to the structure was guaranteed by a retractable wooden ramp located on the east side. A solid fortress built with smooth white stones which was fully inserted in the feudal past of this land. It was in fact part, together with other localities, of the Barony of Carapelle at least until the early 800s. Over time, several families followed one another in the domain of this area. Among these i Piccolomini which contributed, as already mentioned, to complete the construction in the mid-400th century with circular towers and walls.
Village and film set
The fortress housed a small village divisible into two parts. An area closer to the castle and a more recent area located downstream. The upper part was abandoned following the earthquake eighteenth-century while the lower area continued to be inhabited until the first postwar period. The latter is today better preserved thanks to the numerous conservative restorations. The interest in the fortress and the village downstream was due to the desire to preserve the historical heritage but not only. Undoubtedly a strong impulse was given by the cinema when the fortress aroused the interest of various producers. One of the best known films certainly cannot be forgotten "The Name of The rose" based on the novel of the same name by Umberto Eco. A production dated 1986 starring a young actor Sean Connery. Many other films shot between the fortress and the village that favored the recovery of houses as well as the conversion of some houses into accommodation facilities.
Paths of the shepherds
At the landscape level the fortress opens the gaze to a breathtaking view. The panorama draws the profiles of the Apennine reliefs of the area. The Gran Sasso, the Velino-Sirente, the Maiella, the Marsicani Mountains. As in a painting with brown and green tones of the barren earth. This is probably what the shepherds of yore could see as they continued south from L'Aquila with their flocks. Rocca Calascio was in fact a central stage during the transhumance of the Tratturo Magno.
This was the name of the route that crossed the regions of Abruzzo, Molise e Puglia that the herdsmen walked through the sale of wool. One of the current ways to reach Rocca Calascio is just to follow the shepherds' itinerary. A journey of about three and a half hours. Definitely a choice that combines physical well-being with the possibility of slowly enjoying the landscape splendor. And it is precisely along this path that you meet the church of Santa Maria della Pietà. A modestly sized religious building that according to some was wanted by the shepherds to thank the Virgin. In fact, it is said that during the 400th century some brigands had tried to invade the territory with little result. The strong devotion of the time led to pay homage to the Madonna for the protection given through the institution of the small church.
