Pescosansonesco - Pescosansonesco

Pescosansonesco is a center ofAbruzzo.

To know

The old town, perched on the crest of the mountain, is abandoned following a large landslide which compromised its safety and destroyed a large part of it.

Geographical notes

Agricultural center of the Abruzzo Apennines, on the south-eastern slopes of the Gran Sasso d'Italia. The town stands on the eastern slopes of Pizzo della Croce, 2 km NE of the old center which was destroyed by a landslide in 1934.

Background

It was a possession of the Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria and at the beginning of the 14th century it appears mentioned as Pesco Sedonisco. It was a fief of the Cantelmo and the Sansonetti.

Historical curiosity

This small village, unknown to most, has its roots in very distant times, even reaching the time before the Roman Empire. The ancient Corfinium (Corfinio) was the capital of the Italic peoples who in 91 BC they gave life to the Lega Italica which opposed the expansionism of Rome; on that occasion, coins were minted bearing the inscription ITALIA on one side, a name that appears for the first time in history. The oath of the Lega Italica would be held on Monte Picca, in the territory of Pescosansonesco.

How to orient yourself

Neighborhoods

Its municipal territory also includes the villages of Colle della Guardia, Decontra and Dogli.

How to get

By plane

• Pescara airport (Abruzzo International Airport), Via Tiburtina Km 229.100, ☎ 39 085 4324201. 

By car

• Provincial road 53 of Torre de 'Passeri
• Tollbooth of Torre de 'Passeri on the A25 motorway Rome - Pescara.

On the train

• Station of Pescara
• Station of Torre de 'Passeri

By bus

• It is served by the Arpa regional bus lines [1]

How to get around

What see

• Ancient country (Pescosansonesco Vecchio). The houses of the ancient inhabited center are perched at different levels on the slope of the rocky spur at the top of which are the imposing remains of the castle. Note also the ruins of the fifteenth-century parish church of San Giovanni Battista, which fell into disrepair following the landslide of 1934.

A few stretches of streets remain of the old village that joined the fortress on the summit; the whole of the buildings seems glued on the mountain wall, with which it forms a whole in terms of tone and the use of stones and rocks used for housing; all this takes advantage of the indisputable charm and that air of mystery that the abandoned villages emanate. 

• Church of San Nicola. At the foot of the rocky wall on which what remains of Pescosansonesco Vecchio is perched is the small church of San Nicola, with a 12th century crypt and a carved stone portal; the jambs show also sculpted capitals. The beautiful church, however, marked along the road by many signs of the provincial tourist office of Pescara, it does not deserve the neglect and abandonment it is in: the path through which it is reached is shamefully infested with weeds and brambles. 
• Franciscan convent and church of Santa Maria in Coll'Angeli. On the site of the convent there was once a chapel dedicated to the Madonna where, according to religious tradition, a miracle occurred in the fifteenth century. That ancient chapel had been built on the remains of a Roman temple dedicated to Mars. The year 1531, reported on the portal of the church, would indicate the end of the construction of the convent. The church of Santa Maria in Coll'Angeli, annexed to the convent complex, shows the symbol of the Lateran Basilica in the tympanum and preserves a statue of Madonna and Child in the seventeenth-century high altar.

The convent currently houses a hostel. 

• Sanctuary of the Blessed Nunzio Sulprizio. This Sanctuary is a pilgrimage destination for a large area in the surroundings and houses the remains of Blessed Nunzio Sulprizio, a Local saint object of much devotion. The church is a recent construction, completely extraneous to the architecture of the village, and hugely clashes between the ancient houses with its style and its whiteness. 

The curiosity

• Gravity point. Famous stretch of road, before entering the town, called the "point of gravity" in which the road that appears downhill plays a strange effect called gravitational: staying in the car, stopped at the precise point, one realizes that the car instead of walking downhill it continues uphill in the opposite direction. 

Events and parties

• Feast of the Blessed Nunzio Sulprizio. on May 5th. It commemorates the death of the Blessed Nunzio who lived in the ancient town until his youth. He died still young in Naples. 

What to do

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

Average prices

• The Ancient Roman Spring, Via IV Novembre 68, ☎ 39 085 8889027. 
• 42.24611213.8840831 The Voltigno Park, Contrada Colle Della Guardia, ☎ 39 085 845528. 

Where stay

Average prices

• 42.25364513.8841791 ^{[link not working]}B&B La Baronata, Via del Municipio 4, ☎ 39 085 8889125, fax: 39 085 8889373, @[email protected]. 
• Petra Hostel, via Colle della Guardia s.n.c., ☎ 39 333 1756696, @[email protected]. Made inside an old Franciscan convent 

Safety

Pharmacy

• 42.2415113.87361 Tiberius, Via San Rocco, 111, ☎ 39 085 8889144. 

How to keep in touch

Post office

• 42.24171713.8744032 Italian post, via San Rocco 88, ☎ 39 085 8889138, fax: 39 085 8889138. 

Around

• Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria - One of the largest Romanesque monumental complexes in the wholeAbruzzo with evident Cistercian Gothic influences, erected by the Benedictines in the 12th century., the Abbey has returned to its new splendor after the restorations carried out following the damage of the earthquake ofthe Eagle in 2009. An '' antiquarium '' located in adjacent rooms collects salvaged material from the Roman and early Christian periods.

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Pescosansonesco
• Commons contains images or other files on Pescosansonesco

Usable : the article respects the characteristics of a draft but in addition it contains enough information to allow a short visit to the city. Use i correctly listing (the right type in the right sections).