Castel di Sangro - Castel di Sangro

Castel di Sangro
View of Castel di Sangro.
Flag
Castel di Sangro - Flag
StateItaly
RegionAbruzzo
TerritoryPeligna-Alto Sangro Valley
Altitude793 m a.s.l.
Inhabitants6.538 (2016)
Name inhabitantscastellani
Prefix tel 39 0864
POSTAL CODE67031
Time zone UTC 1
PatronSan Rufo (August 27)
Position
Map of Italy
Reddot.svg
Castel di Sangro
Institutional website

Castel di Sangro is a city ofAbruzzo.

To know

The city is the capital and main seat of the Alto Sangro Mountain Community and the Cinque Miglia Plateau.

Geographical notes

It rises at the edge of a very wide valley, on the right bank of the river: the Sangro. The Sangro has its sources near Pescasseroli, in the heart of the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise. Before reaching the valley, the stream forms a fairly large lake in the reservoir near Barrea, another municipality that is part of the park. With the dam built to form the lake of Barrea, the river took on a torrential character in the summer due to the maneuvers to close the bulkheads to preserve the level of the lake. In the seventies the Sangro was regimented and today it has the appearance of a canal and in Castel di Sangro it welcomes the waters of its tributary Zittola and of some numerous springs in the plain to the right of the same Sangro, a plain that was often invaded by the overflow of the river today instead channeled In this area there are now both industries and tourist facilities, on the left bank. at the foot of Mount Arazecca there is one of the nine three-star Italian peninsular restaurants, the southernmost .. -At the valley of Castel di Sangro the river is enriched with other waters and Villa Santa Maria where it forms the navigable lake of Bomb thanks to an embankment dam. Finally it flows into the Adriatic Sea. The Sangro in the stretch where it flows in the territory of Castel di Sangro is still populated by trout of the "fario" species and is frequently the site of fishing competitions valid for the Italian title and for the world title in fly fishing. inside Castel di Sangro it is possible to admire the trout while upstream they await any food transported by the stream. In this town there is a F.I.T. (tennis) which welcomes hundreds of young people every summer for fortnightly tennis courses. Castel di Sangro is the commercial headquarters of the area, as well as an active tourist center also due to its proximity to the ski resorts of Roccaraso, Pescocostanzo is Rivisondoli.

When to go

Castel di Sangro is characterized by an Apennine climate, made more rigid by the influences of cold air coming from the Adriatic and by the proximity to the mountain massifs of Greco and Mainarde; it is also influenced by the presence of two rivers: the Sangro and the Zittola. Snowfalls are not uncommon, but being only 800 meters away, these are often not very consistent events, except for some cases. Summers are dry and breezy, with temperatures that can exceed 30 degrees. Compared to the highest part of the homonymous valley, it enjoys a more pleasant and relatively less snowy climate.

Background

The Romans raised this population by equipping it with an ordo, or autonomous senate, a forum and later also with structures for games in honor of the emperor Augustus.In the ninth century the whole territory of the church of Santa Maria, the ancient episcopal seat was donated by the Duke of Benevento to the Benedictines of the nearby Abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno built in 703, who brought life and civilization back to these places. they induced the inhabitants of these districts to perch on the heights and to build fortified works, until in the 11th century the sons of a certain Borrello replaced the Benedictines. Belonging to this family, Oderisio assumed the title of count and changed the name of the family to that of "di Sangro" and in 1050 a castle of great strategic importance was built on the fortress defended by the megalithic walls, managing to stabilize its dominance among the surrounding territories. Since then, the entire surrounding settlement has taken the name of Castrum Sari.This strategic position and situation of prosperity characterized The via degli Abruzzi for many centuries, always threatened and envied for its position and for its importance for commercial relations.In 1228 the troops of Cardinal Colonna burned and destroyed the village and the castle of Castrum Sari to punish the loyalty kept to Frederick II of Swabia by Count Rinaldo II di Sangro. A few years later a young monk from Isernia, Pietro di Angelerio, the future Celestine V, started his hermit life here.

When the Swabians fell, the heirs of Rinaldo di Sangro suffered the revenge of Charles of Anjou; in fact, reprisals, looting and fires followed. All this until King Ferrante, after beating the son of Renato D'Angiò, repaired the damage and granted exemptions and immunities. Thus Castel di Sangro was reborn as a small artisan and mercantile bourgeoisie.Castel di Sangro was so strong that not even the devastating earthquake of 1456 or the plague of 1656 brought down the town. All this led Charles III of Bourbon to award Castel di Sangro the title of city in 1744. However, when Naples lost its role as capital, the Via degli Abruzzi also lost its importance, and the post-unitary governments proved to be of little sensitivity. These and other problems of which the south was the protagonist caused the misery of which Teofilo Patini (Castel di Sangro 1840 - Naples 1906) became the interpreter in memorable paintings.

On 7 November 1943 the Germans blew up the entire town to slow down the advance of the allied forces who fought here for the next 8 months until they broke through the German defense on the shores of Mount Arazzecca and on the top of Colle di San Giovanni or Castello Superiore, both included in the famous "Gustav" line. However, Castel di Sangro was also subject to bombing by the allies. At the time, Castel di Sangro had two railway stations: Ferrovie dello Statp and Ferrovia Sangritana. Those who lived through those terrible moments said that the Allies were informed that the Germans had a convoy full of ammunition and explosives in the station and made a night raid with bombers to destroy it. In the meantime the Germans moved the convoy hiding it in the tunnel halfway up the Arazecca mountain that they were garrisoning. The bombers, in the light of the flares, exchanged the iron bridge over the Sangro, at the beginning of the climb to Roccaraso, for the convoy and destroyed it.

How to orient yourself

Neighborhoods

Castel di Sangro can be said to be divided into eight districts, or districts, and precisely:

  • Civita - It is the highest part of the city, largely the historic center.
  • Railway station - The railway station district. The hospital is located there.
  • Colle - Another upper part of Castel di Sangro, formed in modern times and mostly inhabited by tourists.
  • Codacchiola - In Sangrino dialect, Cudacchiola, another historic district of Castel di Sangro located, however, unlike Civita, in the valley.
  • Ara - The sports district, where there are the stadium, the sports hall, the F.I.T. and the lake for fishing.
  • Square - The current center of the city.
  • New Bridge The neighborhood where most of the city's high schools are located.
  • Saint Lucia - Alluvial peripheral area where the Zittola river flows into other minor tributaries, but swollen with water in the winter, where farms and small family farms are located.

Its municipal area also includes the hamlets of:

  • Roccacinquemiglia located on a hill 5 km from the capital, in the direction of Roccaraso, is at an altitude of 1,121 m a.s.l. and has 335 inhabitants. There is a square with a church, a medieval tower (old bell tower of the church, now a ruin), and a soccer field where the children of the village can go to play. There are no commercial establishments. There is a bar.
  • Tower of Feudozzo is a locality located in the extreme south of the municipal territory, near the border with Molise. It houses the Center for Biodiversity of the State Forestry Corps, where relict bovine and equine breeds are preserved.
  • Pontoon is a locality located in the northern part of the municipal territory, mainly for tourism.
  • Sant'Angelo finally it is a residential area of ​​the municipality.


How to get

By plane

Italian traffic signs - verso bianco.svg

By car

From the North

  • A14 motorway
  • from the north: in the direction of Ancona, follow the direction Rome, continue on the A 25 motorway, exit at Bussi /Peoples, follow the signs for L'Aquila, continue on the SS 17 towards Castel di Sangro.
  • from the south: follow the direction Pescara, to Bari North take the A 16 motorway towards Benevento, continue along the ring road RA 9 and in Benevento continue on the SS 88, exit in the direction Campobasso, continue on the SS 17 and follow the signs for Castel di Sangro.
  • From L'Aquila take the SS 17 towards Castel di Sangro.

By bus

The city is served by bus lines operated by the following transport companies:


How to get around


What see

Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta
Portico of the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta
  • Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta. It is the main religious building of the city, in the upper part of the town; in 1902 it was declared a national monument.
The structure has three naves with two orders of arches, with two bell towers. It originates in the second half of the 10th century, when a religious building was raised to replace the church of Santa Maria ad duas Basilicas located in Valle Salice since the fifth century. The 10th century building, destroyed by the earthquake of 1456 (which left only seven houses standing), was called the "archpriest church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo".
No evidence of this first construction remains, with the exception of the donation by the King of the Two Sicilies Ruggero of the rural churches of Sant'Ilario, San Lorenzo, Santa Lucia and San Valentino.
It was immediately rebuilt, based on a project by Francesco Ferradini, with the structure still existing today. In the past centuries it was customary to bury personalities of prominent families inside, as happened to the Panasca, Matta, Canofilo, Mancini, De Petra and Minotti-Maffei.
The building has an ancient fifteenth-century loggia and a fourteenth-century high-relief depicting the Pietà inside the portico. On the wall of the right bell tower there is a single lancet window, while on the façade eight statues have been placed in as many niches, depicting Santa Concordia, San Rufo, San Rocco, San Sebastiano, Sant'Amidio, Sant'Antonio Abate, San Gaetano and the Assunta .
Impossible not to notice the majestic front clock and the large portal. The latter is surrounded by faces carved in stone and the coat of arms of Castel di Sangro is present.
Inside you can admire the bronze group of Baptism of Christ on the top of the Baptistery, attributed to the Cellini school, also enriched by marble inlays. The same can be found on the altar of San Sebastiano and on the main altar. Behind the latter there are the wooden choir and the ancient lectern and a bas-relief hiding the body of Santa Concordia, in a niche.
The pulpit and the fifteenth-century frontal (depicting the life of Jesus and decorating the altar of the Addolorata) are also vaulted in wood.
The hosted canvases are of undoubted value. Between these: The dispute with the doctors is The birth of the Jesus of Vaccaro; The fall of Jesus under the cross is Jesus shown by Pilate by De Mura; The Madonna and Child with the Saints is Dinner by De Matteis; The miracle of manna is Moses with the bronze serpent of Cyril. 
  • De Petra Palace. The ancient noble De Petra family owned feudal assets in Campania, Abruzzo is Molise since the time of the Norman domination in southern Italy. The palace they own is embellished by a lion called the Marzocco who bears a severed head in his right paw, the heraldic symbol of the family, still present in the coat of arms of the descendants. 
  • Church of S. Nicola. It dates back to the 12th century, when it was built on the ruins of a previous church. Pope Celestine V stopped there in 1235 before choosing the ascetic life on Mount Mottone. The current building is the rebuilding that took place after the Second World War, when the temple was destroyed; the reconstruction has changed its forms. 
  • Church of Saints Crispino and Crispiniano. The Romanesque-style portal leads to the interior with a single nave, where a sixteenth-century altar recovered from the ancient church of the Maddalena is preserved. It was dedicated to San Leonardo and changed its dedication following the purchase that the Confraternity of Saints Crispino and Crispiniano made in the first half of the nineteenth century. 
  • Civita. 
  • Ruins of the medieval castle and megalithic walls. 
  • Church of Oration and Death. Built in 1736 by the will of the Confraternity of Death and Prayer, it is accessed via a double staircase. The single nave preserves eighteenth-century stuccos and canvases from the Neapolitan school of the same century, as well as the organ built by the famous Cimino family of organ builders. 

Museums

Convent of the Maddalena
  • Aufidenate Civic Museum. It was established in 1898 with the name of Aufidenate Museum; the historians of the time strongly wanted to open a meeting place for all the archaeological finds found in the area. : It was born in a period in which the real position of the ancient city of Aufidena was taking shape.
In 1924 many artifacts were stolen, but the museum remained open and continued to be enriched with new artifacts over time. The bombings of 1943 - 44 however decreed its closure; there was not much damage to the infrastructures, but the finds remained unattended for a long time, victims of numerous looting. The remaining finds often ended up outdoors, exposed to the elements for many years.
The new museum was inaugurated more than fifty years later, in 1999, following the renovation of the old one Convent of the Maddalena, in the peripheral area of ​​Castel di Sangro. The work of recovering the finds had already begun years earlier by the local section of the Archeoclub of Italy; the municipal administration had provisionally used part of the Prince's Palace as a museum. 
  • Stanislao Kuckiewicz International Fly Fishing Museum. Two rooms of the renovated Convent of the Maddalena have been used as the International Fly Fishing Museum named after Stanislao Kuckiewiez, established with the collaboration of the Fly Fishing School-SIM and inaugurated in September 2000. It exhibits photographs, documents and equipment specialized in fly fishing, a very popular sport in Castel di Sangro.
Another room is dedicated to temporary exhibitions, which are constantly being renewed. There are paintings, photos and so on. 
  • Patiniana Picture Gallery. It houses paintings and works related to the Castelsangrino painter, exponent of Realism, Teofilo Patini. It is located inside the Palazzo De Petra. 

Sites of naturalistic interest

  • Wildlife Biopark of Abruzzo (Zoo of Abruzzo). It is a zoological garden located in Brionna. It is one of the largest zoological parks inAbruzzo being the only one in the region together with that of Rocca San Giovanni and of Civitella Casanova.
The biopark is made up of the zoo, a central garden with a fountain, a playground for children, various kiosks and an artificial lake for fishing. Fishing is allowed only to experts, so that the balance of the aquatic ecosystem is properly protected.
Remarkable is the variety of animal species present: Gray Wolf, Marsican Bear, Abruzzo Gray Wolf, Guinea Pig, White Swan, Emu, Shelduck, Abruzzo Boar, Golden Pheasant, Marà, Garganey, Gray Crowned Crane. 
  • Cycle and pedestrian path along the Sangro river. 
View of the Feudozzo lake at the end of a summer day
  • Tower of Feudozzo. This locality in the municipality of Castel di Sangro, on the border with Molise, is a truffle harvesting and holiday area.
It rises around a feudal structure of the Bourbon period, which later became a shelter for Nazi troops during the Second World War. The presence of this feudal structure gave the place its name, while no trace remains of the tower (demolished during the last war).
After the war, the structure passed into the hands of the State Forestry Corps which in the last decade has created an important center for biodiversity by hosting the ancient relict cattle breeds, that is, all those considered at risk of extinction.
Today La Torre di Feudozzo has about 160 protected cattle (of very rare breeds including the Modicana, the pasturina, the castana, the burlina), about sixty horses of relict breeds, a station command of the State Forestry Corps, a structure accommodation and a vast state forest surrounding the lake of the same name.
Several experimental projects have been launched at the Torre di Feudozzo in collaboration with ENEA. These include the construction of a dairy served by a milk pipeline which supplies the milk directly from the milking parlor of the company, without coming into contact with the air, thus allowing it not to be pasteurized, thus obtaining a product of the highest quality.
Furthermore, the dairy processing residues, containing powerful pollutants for groundwater and rivers (including rennet and lactose), are subjected to a particular treatment (ENEA patent) which transforms the molecules into sugars that can be assimilated by the body, reused in the food process of the cows of the Feudozzo. 


Events and parties

  • August Castellano. The evenings in August are enlivened by many musical events 
  • Organ Summer. Simple icon time.svgFrom 17 to 22 August. The Pandora Cultural Association performs concerts on the ancient organs of Alto Sangro and in particular that of the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta in Castel di Sangro. 
  • Youth Day. Simple icon time.svgfirst two weeks of August. The La Clessidra Cultural Association has been organizing the Youth Festival for several years with games and cultural events dedicated to a mainly young audience. A Music Festival with the delivery of Clessidra in Music Award. 
  • Aufidena Musica. It takes place throughout the year in the "F. P. Tosti" theater with musical and theatrical performances. 
  • September Fest (beer festival). Simple icon time.svgbetween August and September. It lasts four or five days; a large tent is set up near the stadium, with dinner, evening musical performances and a disco from midnight onwards. 
  • San Rufo Festival. Simple icon time.svgAugust 27. On the evening of the patron saint San Rufo there is a big party for which some famous singer is often invited to Castel di Sangro; a long fireworks display follows. 
  • Made in Italy Film Festival. Simple icon time.svgBetween October and November. Film festival organized by the 70Eventi Association to commemorate the old Italian auteur cinema. 


What to do


Shopping

Among the most traditional, widespread and active economic activities there are handicraft ones such as weaving aimed at the creation of carpets, tapestries and blankets characterized by geometric and vegetable themes.

How to have fun

Shows


Where to eat

Average prices


Where stay

Average prices


Safety

Italian traffic signs - pharmacy icon.svgPharmacies


How to keep in touch

Post office

  • 3 Italian post, Corso Vittorio Emanuele 1, ☎ 39 0864 84231. 
  • 4 Italian post, Vicolo Torto s.n.c., ☎ 39 0864 845137. 



Around

  • Roccaraso - Its ski facilities, belonging to the Alto Sangro ski area, make it one of the major mountain tourist resorts of the entire Apennines.
  • Isernia - Among the first documented Paleolithic settlements in Europe, it was then a flourishing Samnite city, capital of the Italic League, later a Roman Municipium. Its millennial past has left it with an important monumental heritage that extends up to the pre-Roman era, as well as very important prehistoric finds.
  • Sulmona - City of Peligni, Municipium Roman, homeland of the Latin poet Ovid (Sulmo mihi patria est), capital ofAbruzzo in the thirteenth century, Sulmona is the reference city of Peligna-Alto Sangro Valley; boasts an important monumental center and also links its name to the production of sugared almonds, already flourishing and renowned in past times.


Other projects

  • Collaborate on WikipediaWikipedia contains an entry concerning Castel di Sangro
  • Collaborate on CommonsCommons contains images or other files on Castel di Sangro
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