Atri
Villages in Abruzzo
A charming city of art nestled along the Teramo coast, Atri boasts ancient origins (7th-5th century BC). It was an important colony in Roman times, suffered barbaric invasions and foreign dominations during the Middle Ages, before finally “reborn” under the control of the Acquaviva lords. It is in the town center where the charm of this long history continues to reveal its evocative power even today. Monuments and historic buildings, churches, museums, and picturesque views are the many pieces of the splendid mosaic that Atri offers to its numerous visitors.
Città Sant’Angelo
The ancient village of Città Sant’Angelo possesses a charm that is truly unique. The imposing mass of the Collegiate Church, the dignity of the noble palaces, the historic city gates, and the numerous and stunning churches, lend the historic center a proud and dynamic appearance, where the artistic and cultural dimension blends into the everyday with great simplicity. The soul of the town is the main street that winds through the historic center, along which the main monuments are situated. Even the narrow alleys often lead the visitor towards completely unexpected views, opening up in front of a church, a monastery, a square, or a museum. But the symbolic monument of Città Sant’Angelo is undoubtedly the Church of San Michele Arcangelo.
Castelli
“The capital of Abruzzo’s art ceramics.” This is the most fitting description for the picturesque mountain village of Castelli, which has become an essential stop for cultural tourism in our region over time. Here, in the Middle Ages, a community of Benedictine monks initiated a flourishing ceramic production activity, exploiting the particular clay composition of the territory. Since then, Castelli has been the homeland of famous masters who served the kings of Naples and the princely houses of Rome. From this “golden age” dates the wonderful majolica ceiling of the rural church of San Donato, defined by Carlo Levi as “the Sistine Chapel of Italian majolica”: 780 votive tiles decorated with profiles, coats of arms, astronomical symbols, animals, and floral motifs in brilliant colors.
Civitella Del Tronto
The emotions of the past come to life in the fortress city of Civitella, undoubtedly one of the most representative and evocative centers of our province. The emblem of Civitella is the solemn Bourbon Fortress, a masterpiece of military engineering with its 25,000 square meters of surface area, making it the largest in Europe.
Santo Stefano Di Sessanio
The village of S. Stefano di Sessanio is, among human-made monuments, perhaps the most evocative in the entire Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park. It is a town completely built in white limestone, whose brightness has been dulled by time. The buildings’ roofs, made exclusively with tiles, offer a harmonious overall vision to those who observe it from the top of the Medici tower. The village is considered among the most beautiful in Abruzzo for its intact environmental values, architectural decorum, and stylistic homogeneity.
