Colle (Arquata del Tronto) - Colle (Arquata del Tronto)

Colle (also Colle di Arquta) is a fraction of the municipality of Arquata del Tronto in the province of Ascoli Piceno, in the region Marche.

To know

The town is located at the highest altitude of the municipality of Arquatano and is one of the most populated. The urban layout is full of houses, many of which are still in stone. The grapheme can be read on the architraves of some houses IHS accompanied by the radiant sun, symbols probably linked and attributable to the preaching of San Bernardino da Siena who, in the 15th century, crossed the area.

The village is locally famous and visited because among its inhabitants the ancient crafts of the woodcutter and the charcoal burner persist. On the mountains surrounding Colle there are many squares from coal located along the paths. On these spaces, the woodcutters form piles of timber arranged starting from a circular base and ordering the logs by size and thickness, to form a dome, covered with earth, with a hole in the center, a sort of fireplace, from which it lights up. combustion and the carbonization process begins. The pile burns for about 15 days, burning at a temperature of 500/600 ° Celsius.

Linked to these places are the figure and the ascetic-spiritual experience of Sant'Amico di Avellana, a monk who moved from Camerino to the Colle mountain to settle in a natural cave hidden in the woods near the source of Santa Maria di Chiarino. He lived there for some time leading a hermitic and solitary life. Tradition has it that he shared his state of isolation with a pack donkey that helped him carry firewood to heat his hole, but that the animal was attacked and killed by a wolf. The hermit scolded the ferocious predator who knelt in front of the saint and repentant replaced the donkey starting to carry the necessary timber. The story of this tale is illustrated in the painting located in the church of San Silvestro, just outside the town, in which Sant'Amico is portrayed, according to the hagiographic tradition, with the ax on his shoulder and the repentant wolf who, loaded with wood, he is led in halters like the donkey he had killed. Further evidence of the particular veneration for this saint can be found in the toponyms (such as that of the Fonte di Sant'Amico and the Church of Sant'Amico) and along the impervious path that leads to the clearing where he stopped to pray and where he was elevated in the 30s the church of Santa Maria della Rocca.

At the center of the village there is the church dedicated to San Sebastiano, adorned with countless symbols and dates, the oldest dating back to the year 1506.

Geographical notes

Colle, like the entire municipality of Arquata, has the characteristic of having the territory between the Sibillini National Park and that of Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga.

The inhabited center is immersed in the woods, among the major reliefs that surround it are Mount Communitore (1695 s.l.m.), Macera della Morte (2073 s.l.m.) and Pizzo di Svevo (2419 s.l.m.). Near the village flows the Chiarino torrent which marks the border between the Marche and Lazio and divides the territory of the province of Ascoli from that of Rieti.

When to go

The town can be visited in all seasons of the year having a typical climate of the central-northern Apennines, characterized by cold temperatures and snowfalls in the winter months, followed by mild summers with pleasant temperatures. These characteristics attract the influx of tourists and vacationers who, especially in summer, visit and stay in the area.

How to orient yourself

The village is located after passing the hamlets of Faete is SpelongaIt can be reached by leaving the SS4 (Salaria) near Trisungo and continuing on the SP20 which leads to Faete, Spelonga and Colle.

How to get

By plane

The nearest airports are:

• Raffaello Sanzio of Falconara (Marche),
• Free of Pescara (Abruzzo),
• Fiumicino is Ciampino From Rome,
• Umbria International Airport of Perugia.

By car

Highways:

• A14: from the exit of San Benedetto del Tronto follow the signs for Ascoli Piceno and for Arquata del Tronto. Reach the town of Trisungo and take the branch of the SP20 that indicates the town.

Ordinary viability:

• SS4 Salaria, branch of the SP20 that signals the town at the height of Trisungo and follow the signs.

How to get around

The most comfortable means of transport for getting around the area are: cars and motorbikes. Inside the inhabited center it is easy to move around on foot, the streets and alleys are in good condition and take on moderate slopes and climbs, almost all accessible to people with disabilities.

What see

• Church of San Silvestro. The Renaissance church is dedicated to Pope San Silvestro. Built outside the inhabited center, on the top of a rock spur that falls overhanging the ravine of the valley, it enjoys a magnificent panoramic position that surveys the entire surrounding area. The area chosen for the construction had probably already been used for the consecration of naturalistic cults in previous times. The interior of the small church consists of a single liturgical hall, with a rectangular plan, illuminated by two windows on the sides of the entrance which bears the date 1510. Richly painted, it is decorated with frescoes dating back to the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. century, the latter have been placed temporally with certainty during the recent restoration works. Most of the paintings were performed by Dionisio Cappelli, an artist born in nearby Amatrice in 1450, active in the area and also in Colle. The last painting attributed to him also belongs to this cycle. From the hand of the amatriciano the figures of the saints portrayed on the walls of the apse were born, such as: St. Paul, St. Peter holding a large key in his right hand, St. Catherine holding the wheel in his left hand, the Madonna del Latte and St. Sylvester with the dragon. The saint is represented in the central space of the fresco, seated on the papal throne, in a blessing attitude, with a white cassock almost hidden by a red cloak, wearing a tiara and holding the crosier in his left hand. From his feet rises the image of the dragon. The side walls had other frescoes by Cappelli, but they have deteriorated, corrupted by time and humidity. The most significant was the portrait of Sant'Amico di Rambona, particularly venerated by the inhabitants of the village, depicted with the ax on his shoulder and the repentant wolf who helped the saint in transporting the wood instead of the pack donkey. On the tympanum there is a small representation of the crucifixion, also by Cappelli, and at the base we read the inscription: «"This façade affects don Vincentio Maffa de Calabria rhetorician of dea eclesia 1511"". The bell gable houses a single bell showing a gothic inscription and the date 1389. 

Events and parties

• Patronal feast. Beginning of August. 

What to do

The town offers the possibility to move to the nearby towns and urban centers of the hamlets with easy road connections. There are also footpaths that, crossing the mountain territory, allow long walks among the green of the luxuriant vegetation that surrounds the town, also practicable with mountain bikes and bicycles.

Shopping

How to have fun

In the summer season there are many opportunities for recreation throughout the territory of the municipality with the programming of numerous events related to historical re-enactments and patronal festivals that entertain visitors with musical evenings or outdoor festivals.

Where to eat

The country does not offer dining options. The nearest hamlets where to find them are: Trisungo, Village of Arquata is Arquata del Tronto.

Where stay

Moderate prices

• ^{[link not working]}Bed & Breakfast Kotobuki, Via Colle 77a, ☎ 39 0736 809746, @[email protected]. € 25 per person, accommodation in a double room with breakfast included. 

Safety

List of telephone numbers that can be useful during a stay:

• 42.77187413.2964511 Carabinieri Command Station, Via Roma, 1C (Arquata del Tronto), ☎ 39 0736 809152. Arquata barracks. 
• 42.7719413.293332 State Forestry Corps, Via Bucciarelli, 11 A Borgo hamlet, ☎ 39 0736 809151, @[email protected]. Seat of the Regional Coordination of the State Forestry Corps - Ancona 
• Alpine Rescue Lazio, ☎ 39 348 6131300. 
• Alpine Rescue Abruzzo, ☎ 39 340 4500611 (President of the Regional Service), 39 346 5009564 (Alpine Delegate), 39 348 8669675 (Speleo Delegate). 

The Ascoli Piceno Alpine Rescue can be contacted via the single national health emergency number 118.

How to keep in touch

Around

From Colle di Arquata it is easy to reach many well-known localities in the area, including:

• Arquata del Tronto - Seat of the municipal capital where there are: the church of the Santissima Annunziata, which welcomes the 13th century polychrome wooden crucifix and the Fortress of Arquata, also known as Queen Giovanna Castle, is a fortified complex from the Middle Ages, which can be visited in all its rooms.

• Forca Canapine - Pass that divides the Arquatano area from the municipality of Norcia. The town is the starting point for other excursions. From the pass you can go down towards the Piani di Castelluccio, Castelluccio and Norcia. Or you can choose to travel by car (or other means of transport) or to walk through the paths that lead to Fork of Presta.

• Acquasanta Terme - Inside the historic center there are houses from the 1500s and the church of Santa Maria Maddalena. A few kilometers from Acquasanta, always in the direction of Ascoli, is Castel di Luco, a fortified medieval castle built on the crest of a travertine spur. From its position it observes the panorama of the Salaria and the Tronto river.
• Amateur - A town in the province of Rieti about 30 km from Colle, it can be reached by taking the SS4 towards Rome and turning right at the crossroads that indicates it. It is home to the agri-food hub of the Gran Sasso Monti della Laga National Park and foamose for the Amatriciana sauce. Of particular interest are the civic tower of the thirteenth century, the church of Sant'Agostino with a late Gothic portal and bell towers. The interior is rich in frescoes among which the Annunciation and the Madonna with Child and Angels stand out. The Sant'Emidio church, dating back to the fifteenth century. The "Nicola Filotesio" Civic Museum of sacred art set up in the church of Sant'Emidio.

Useful information

• 42.77258713.2963953 Municipality of Arquata, Piazza Umberto I, ☎ 39 0736 809122, @[email protected]. 
• 42.75240513.2722874 ^{[link not working]}House of the Sibillini Mountains Park, Borgo hamlet, ☎ 39 0736 803915, @[email protected]. It is based at the Centro Due Parchi 
• 42.75240513.2722875 Center of the Two Parks, Borgo hamlet, ☎ 39 0736 803915, fax: 39 0736 809921, @[email protected]. from June to September, Mon-Sun 9: 30-12: 30 and 16: 00-19: 00. It operates in the area as a Training and Permanent Education Center. You can contact this facility for information on the area, to learn about trekking and hiking trails, mountain bike trails and more. Reservations are made for excursions and activities proposed by the Park Guides. Furthermore, it is possible to know the rules of conduct to observe in the protected area and to purchase information material on the Sibillini National Park 
• ^{[link not working]}Cime Azzurre Cooperative, Via Mattatoio, 2 Borgo di Arquata, ☎ 39 0736 804780, @[email protected]. Environmental Education Center. 

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Colle (Arquata del Tronto)

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