The Treasures of the Laga mountains , , , ,

Abruzzo’s Mountain tastes and treasures PROVINCIA DI

Settore B5 - Servizio Turismo: Director Piergiorgio Tittarelli Guide creation & co-ordination: Patrizia Crocetti, Daniela Di Dionisio Text: Salvatore Scappucci - Translation: inlingua Teramo Graphics: Maurizio Mancini Print: AGP Arti Grafiche Picene Cover photo: M. Anselmi PROVINCIA DI TERAMO Assessorato al Turismo

The Treasures of the Laga mountains The Beauty of a “Green Heart”.

Nature is definitely the main attraction of the Laga area, showing off the beauty of Teramo Province’ s “green heart”. A wild and unspoiled natural environment with lush woods, luxuriant plateaus and water, a precious resource, running copious in magnificent waterfalls and torrents. This is the perfect description of , (the Laga Mountains) a range crossing the provinces of Teramo, and Rieti. Just between the Sibillni in the north and the Gran Sasso Massif in the south. By choosing to visit this corner of the mountains of the you will have the chance to live an exciting adventure. Starting from Mount Gorzano (2.458 m), the highest peak overlooking the surroundings, it is possible to go down to the valleys along the ancient towns streets where you can discover local traditions and stories that people from this area, mainly sheep farmers, have been preserving for centuries. 4

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The Laga Mountains Panorama 6 Ph. M. Anselmi

Cortino Ph. M. Anselmi Servillo verycharminghamlets. tovia, nice churchesandgorgeousviewsmakeof sheep-farming towns. Buildings made of stones, depopulation butinthepasttheywereimportant Nowadays Cortino’sdistrictsareexperiencing Salvatore togetherwithitssurroundingdistricts. Cortino’s mainattractionisthechurchof Charming littlevillages. Crognaleto. split intwodifferentmunicipalities:Cortinoand the fiefwentunderaegisof French anditwas viva familyterritory. Atthebeginningof1800s until 1526whenitbecameapartofthe was underthecontrolofBishopTeramo for thefirsttimeas“Corte”in11thcentury. It cient originsofthesettlement.Itsnameappears Roman ruinsfoundintheareatestifyveryan- From AncientRometothefief’sdivision. Elce, Padula, Pagliaroli, Pezzelle and Acqua- San San Al- taking placeeveryyearinAugustPadula. Night oftheBrigands)averysuggestiveevent The maineventis“ ties areporcinimushroomsandchestnuts. best intheentireprovince.Otherlocalspecial local productisits the starting point to reach the Italia” (’sPathway). Elce,isanotherperfect for example, is one of the stops of the “ tino area towards the Laga Mountains. Padula, There aremanyroutesstartingofffromtheCor historical reenactment. Excursions, greatcheeseandafascinating www..cortino.te.it Tel. 0861.64112-Fax 0861.64331 Frazione diPagliaroli Comune diCortino Info &Contact . Cortino’s most famous Abetina diCortino. Cortino’s most famous , known as one of the cheese, knownasoneofthe ” (The La NottedeiBriganti”(The Porcini mushrooms oftheLaga

and Monte Bilanciere and Sentiero Sentiero 7 - - 8 Ph. M. Anselmi

Crognaleto Ph. M. Anselmi ring this area means getting lost in its traditions res surrounding villages and old mills. Explo Luxuriant woods,clearwaters, endlesspastu- mic events. Local productsforunmissable gastrono ble woodenbaroqueworks. interiors that amaze the visitors with their valua ches, dottedinandaroundthehamlets,feature Church ofthe carved inthestone.Asuperbexampleis autiful andlavishchurches,especiallytheones and manylittlehamlets.Itstandsoutforitsbe Crognaleto’s territoryincludesfifteendistricts Stone carvedchurchesandbaroque. “doge” asheadofstateanditsowncurrency. similar republicangovernment,withanelected of ’s sister)becauseitsrulersadopteda “serenissima sorella” (Most Serene Republic dent republic. was in fact named as 1500s of Poggio Umbricchioandthebuildingsof the stonebuildingsandbeautifulviewsof villages. Amongstthemitisworthmentioning ture. Anotherfeatureisrepresentedbyitslovely pre-Roman era,anditsmedievalurbanstruc attested byitsmegalithicwalls,remainsofa no. Anothercharacteristicisitsancientstory, betweenMonteCorvoandGorza- gnaleto, a small village in the The beautyofnatureisthemainfeatureCro the “serenissimasorella”. Megalithic walls,outstandingviewsand Senarica, nobleandvaliantindepen Madonna della Tibia. Itschur alta valledel ------October. the can’t miss: the Festival in July and the mainlocalproducts.Two oftheeventsyou licious “ventricina”(literallysmallstomach)are and itsgoodfood.Cheese,chestnutsde- www.comune.crognaleto.te.it Tel. 0861.950110-Fax 0861.950288 Via CesareBattisti-Frazione diNerito Comune diCrognaleto Info &Contacts Castagna Festival (ChestnutFestival) in The Ventricina 9 The Laga woods in autumn

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Rocca Santa Maria Ph. M. Anselmi Lago dell’Orso . na (MorricanaWaterfall), gorgeous hiketothe mushrooms, localproductofprime qualityorthe Ceppo, easy walks forthegatheringof porcini on. Thereareeasyandrelaxing itinerariesat nery therearemanypossible excursions togo possible ones. Since nature dominates the sce The villagesrouteisjustoneamongstthemany Trekking andPorcini mushrooms. dition. they testifythestrengthofpastanditstra cient churcheswithbeautifulbaroqueinteriors charming belonging to the Lagaterritory, thereare many In RoccaSantaMaria’sarea,asinotherareas tiful interiors. Deserted villagesandchurcheswithbeau- fascists. of abloodybattlebetweenpartisansandnazi- della (MarteseWoods) wasthescene as well. OnSeptember 25th infact, the one Kingdomin1861andtotheResistance by Spanishfrom1600suntilItalywasunitedin is strictlybondedtothebrigands’fame,fought cal importance during the . This land gives thenametovillage,testifiesitshistori Santa Maria”fort,(RoccaisItalianforfort),that ral universities. The presence of the “Rocca once thepropertyofthreeancientagricultu- It includeselevendistrictsinanareathatwas “scattered commune*”(municipality) Rocca SantaMariaisanotherexampleofa Ages ramparts,brigandsandpartisans. Ancient AgriculturalUniversities,Middle deserted villages.Together with Cascata dellaMorrica- and Pizzo diMoscioand Bosco Bosco an- - - - www.roccasm.it Tel. 0861.63122-Fax 0861.63279 Via Municipio,9-Frazione diImposte Comune diRoccaSantaMaria Info &Contacts Trekking ontheLaga 11 12 Ph. M. Anselmi

Torricella Sicura Ph. M. Anselmi numerous churches:the nicipality hasahugeheritagethatincludesits the villagearewellworthavisit.Torricella mu (Saracini Wall) andtheold romanremainsof can beadmired,the“MuragliadeiSaracini Monte Fanum, whereruinsofaRoman temple es holdingprecioustreasures. A Romantemple,ancientwallsandchurch of theResistance. remembered togetherwithheroesandvictims brigands. Importanthistorical characters are about village thereareevocativelegendsliketheone later part of Teramo Bishopric until 1800s. In the the MiddleAges.FirstitwasaSpoleto’sfiefand monastery ofSanGiovanniaScorzoneduring Teramo) controlwasdeeplyinfluenced bythe “Vicus” underpowerfulInteramnia(oldnamefor cura isaveryinterestingarcheologicalarea. Gateway totheLagaMountains,Torricella Si and Resistance’sheroes. Archeological areas,evocativelegends the “Infiorata”firtrees’shavings turnthemain distinctive event happens in June when during and the“Minestroneallatorricellese fers delicious dishes such as “Lu rentrocelo ” acteristics ofTorricella Sicura.Thevillage of Archeology andnaturearethe twomainchar Torricella Sicuraanditsdouble soul San BartolomeoinVillaPopolo. Maria Assuntaand Torricella SIcura. SanPietroinAzzano,Santa and thechurchofMadonnadelleVergini in Hannibal orthemanytalesabout Santa BarbarainIoanella. church of San Paolo ”. Avery ” - - - - -

della Laga”areworthvisiting. tion) and the MuseoEtnografico“LeGenti In Decemberthe street ofthevillageintoalongcolourfulcarpet. www.comune.torricellasicura.te.it Tel. 0861.554727-Fax 0861.55403 Piazza MarioCapuani Comune diTorricella Sicura Info &Contacts Presepe (Nativityrepresenta- Nativity representation 13 The Church of Santissima Annunziata’s portal

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Valle Castellana Ph. M. Anselmi nifaci castle)in ma Annunziata.Thelittle Vito, worth visitingthemagnificent da Sole, a stronghold built by King Manfredi. It is mains ofCastelManfrinointheareaMacchia numental heritage.Ourtripstartsofffromthere Valle Castellana is a surprise to visitors for its mo Castles, churchesanddesertedvillages. of manybattles. the StateofChurchprovidedbackground border areabetweentheKingdomofNaplesand le Castellanaterritorywaslandofbrigands.This Acquaviva family. DuringtheRisorgimentoVal- was a fief of the graves and remains attest. In the Middle Ages it human presencesincethePaleolithic asmany large numberofvillages.Therearerecords Valle Castellanaterritoryishugeandincludesa surgence)* conflicts festival) inNovember. della castagnadiLeofara”(Leofarachestnut le paure”(Nightoffears)inJulyandthe “ great taste.Interestingeventsare the“ kind of chestnut that stand out for its quality and cheese, products aredelicious.Amongst themthereare little skiresortof Talvacchia (Talvacchia Lake)totheskiingin lovers. From theGamefishingatLagodi There aremanydifferentopportunitiesfornature in Italy. Game fishing,skiingandthebestchestnuts the area. one ofthemanyevocative From thePaleolithic totheRisorgimento(Re Santa Rufina ”, a porcini mushroomsand“marroni ”, a Vallenquina family and then of the Crescenzi family and then of the Monte Piselli andthechurchof castello Bonifaci(Bo in deserted villages in is unique and it is the isuniqueanditthe churches of San churches ofSan . Local dishes and . Localdishesand Notte del- Santissi- sagra sagra - - - - www.comune.vallecastellana.te.it Tel. 0861.93130-Fax 0861.93557 Località Capoluogo-ViaProvinciale Comune diValle Castellana Info &Contacts Marroni fromLaga 15