| Balsorano | ||
 | ||
| State | Italy | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Abruzzo | |
| Territory | Marsica | |
| Altitude | 340 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 58.85 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 3.582 (2015) | |
| Name inhabitants | Balsoranesi | |
| Prefix tel | 39 0863 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 67052 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
| Patron | St. George the Martyr | |
Position
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| Tourism site | ||
| Institutional website | ||
Balsorano is a city of Marsica, subregion ofAbruzzo.
To know
Populous center of the Roveto Valley, in Abruzzo, it marks the southern border with the region Lazio (Middle Liri Valley). The town is dominated from above by the imposing Piccolomini castle of the fifteenth century. Medieval-Renaissance style structure located on a rocky ridge in the Roveto Valley, it has a vaguely pentagonal plan. The castle has been chosen as the location of numerous films starting from the sixties and seventies. It is part of the club of the Authentic Villages of Italy.
Geographical notes
The town marks the border of the Abruzzo region with that of Lazio. It develops at the foot of the Ernici mountains on the Roveto side. Balsorano borders to the south with Sora, north with San Vincenzo Valle Roveto, to the east with the national park of Abruzzo and to the west with Veroli. Its castle has always been the last bastion of the Roveto valley and of the Marsica towards the south. The municipal territory is crossed by the river Liri.
When to go
Summer is the best time to visit Balsorano, the castle, the museum and the itineraries that lead to the numerous hermitages present in the mountain territory of the Roveto Valley.
Background
The name Balsorano (formerly called Vallis Soranae) appears with certainty starting from the 10th century, given the frequent Benedictine presence in the area, in important documents. In the precious 12th century "Catalog of the Barons", Balsorano is indicated as a "fief of four soldiers", subject to Count Ruggiero di Albe. From the thirteenth to the fifteenth century the history of Balsorano is identified with that of the county of Albe, from which however it detaches after the defeat of Ruggiero in 1463, being Balsorano (together with Celano) passed into fiefdom to Antonio Piccolomini.
The last baron, Tiberio Piccolomini Testa, lost the fief in 1806 and his assets were purchased by the Frenchman Carlo Lefebvre, the founder of the mechanical industry in the Liri Valley and of the Fibreno paper mills, around 1850.
Created as a municipality in 1809, Balsorano also includes the hamlets of Rendinara, San Giovanni Valle Roveto and Roccavivi; but the first, in 1816, passes underneath Civita d'Antino (and later under Morino) and the other two under the administration of San Vincenzo Valle Roveto.The town was marked by the devastated earthquake of 13 January 1915 which also caused destruction and victims here. The town was almost completely destroyed and rebuilt further downstream, as it was for many towns in the Roveto Valley and Marsica.
How to orient yourself
Balsorano: full screen map.How to get
By plane
- Pescara airport (Abruzzo International Airport), Via Tiburtina Km 229.100 Pescara (It is about 143 kilometers away), ☎ 39 085 4324201, ☎ 39 899 130 310, fax: 39 085 4324207, @[email protected].
- Rome Ciampino Airport, Via Appia Nuova, 1651 Ciampino-Rome (It is about 122 km away), ☎ 39 06 65951, @[email protected].
- Rome Fiumicino Airport, Via dell 'Fiumicino Airport, 320 Fiumicino-Rome (It is about 152 km away), ☎ 39 06 65951, @[email protected].
By car
Balsorano is connected with Avezzano and the branch of the A25 motorway Rome-Pescara, from which it is about 35 kilometers and the neighboring one Sora through the State Road 690 known as the "Superstrada del Liri". Another important road artery is the Strada Statale 82 of the Liri Valley.
On the train
The national network of Trenitalia manages the railway lines Rome-Avezzano-Sulmona-Pescara and the Avezzano line-Roccasecca which connects the Marsica with Sora is Cassino.
By bus
Bus lines managed by TUA bus lines (the only Abruzzese transport company - ex Arpa) [1]
Bus lines managed by TUA bus lines (the only Abruzzese transport company - ex Arpa) How to get around
What see
- 1 [link not working]Piccolomini Castle, Piccolomini square (Old Balsorano), ☎ 39 0863 950343, fax: 39 0863 951249. The Piccolomini castle of Balsorano whose construction began at the behest of Antonio Piccolomini in the fifteenth century, around 1460, looks like an imposing structure in medieval-Renaissance style. It features multiple gates and a lush park.
- 2 Pastoralism Museum, Street of the station (Old railway station), ☎ 39 0863 950343, fax: 39 0863 951249. Museum of Pastoralism, located in the site of the old railway station, the museum of spontaneous art and pastoral activities houses tools and tools used over the centuries by the populations of the Marsica. In two other rooms there are the numismatic section and the one dedicated to trains and railways.
- 3 Cave of Sant'Angelo, Vallone di Sant'Angelo (Above the town of Balsorano, the capital, at an altitude of 917 m asl), ☎ 39 0863 790357. a small Benedictine monastery, it is one of the cave sanctuaries of Val Roveto. It dates back to the 11th century.
Events and parties
What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Where to eat
Average prices
- 1 [link previously not working]La Locanda del Barone, Via Flavia (Old Balsorano), ☎ 39 0863 950955, @[email protected]. Italian cuisine with typical local products.
- 2 Sant'Angelo, Via Sant'Angelo, 20 (Balsorano capital), ☎ 39 0863 951260. Italian cuisine with typical products.
- 3 Mount Cornacchia, Via Case Chiesa, 58 (Fraction of Ridotti), ☎ 39 0863 950192. Italian cuisine. Culinary specialties of Abruzzo.
Where stay
Average prices
- 1 B&B Il Sogno di Adry, Piazza San Martino, 2 (Old Balsorano), ☎ 39 334 3310069. Bed and breakfast located near the central square of the village of Balsorano Vecchio, not far from the Piccolomini castle.
- 2 Locanda del Ponte, Collepiano Bridge, 11 (Collepiano hamlet), ☎ 39 339 7845961, @[email protected]. Bed and breakfast located in the town of Ponte di Collepiano.
Safety
- 1 Recchia Pharmacy, via Cesare Colucci 11, ☎ 39 0863 950815.
How to keep in touch
Post office
- 2 Italian post, via Quintino Sella snc, ☎ 39 0863 950916.
Around
- Guided nature reserve Zompo lo Schioppo
- Monte Pizzo Deta
- Roveto Valley
