Medieval Villages and Castles Out the Wazoo

View from  Rocca Calascio  (rock castle)

We drove back roads from Roccamorice toward Santo de Stefano di Sessanio, following a trail of medival castles and villages.I noticed a medieval tower on the hilltop from the road, so we stopped to walk the hill.  This was the medieval tower of Forca di Penne.  It was built along a pass that would be strategic for any feudal lord. 
 

Tower of Forca di Penne

View from the tower

Then we came to the village Castel del Monte – a cluster of stone buildings anchored to the top of a mountain. It is one of the highest villages in the Apennines. There isn’t a flat street/alleyway as the village was built on the mountain rock. The buildings and alleys follow the flow of the rock that makes for interesting angles, tunnels, and levels. Anyone living here would be in great shape as you are constantly stepping up or down.  And the defensive advantage is that 'visitors' would not easily find their way through town if they arrived unwelcomed. The village is being restored after the 2009 earthquake. Two large modern cranes stuck out of this rocky ancient village which made it look like a movie set rather than a restoration.

windy street in Castel del Monte

no flat walkway

 Perfect place for a picnic. We found a food store with wonderful foccacia and cookies. We found out that this area is known for their cookies, and skiing. We found a spot in town near the fountain to lay out our spread: focaccia, olive oil, fruit, and pecorino cheese that we purchased on the way to town from a woman who made and sold cheeses from her home, an ugly tomato we purchased from the farmer in the town center in Roccamorice before we left, and the cookies of course.

lunch!

Chef

Then on to the isolated medieval castle, Rocca Calascio sitting at 1500m – the highest Italian castle. This castle was shown in the movie: Ladyhawk.  We hiked an hour to the top where we viewed the nearby octagonal church of Madonna della Pieta, built in the late 16^th century. Then we took a rocky climb to the castle ruins. The views from here are astounding. This is the center of the Gran Sasso National Park. You clearly see the peak of Corno Grande, the chain’s tallest.  10^th century barons chose this place for obvious reasons of security, but I think also  beauty.

Castel atop the mountain that we hiked!

The Turk leads the way past one of the walls

Castel Calascio

Nearby church

Corno Grande peak in the background

looking through tower window opening toward other buildings and walls