Diapositiva 1

Class
VA
Agnellini Erika
Di Bari Sara
Del Grosso Silvia
Amicucci Giovanni
Spalletta Valeria
Iannola Palmira
Santese Daiana
By the “ISTITUTO TECNICO PER IL TURISMO A. ARGOLI” di Tagliacozzo (AQ)
Alba Fucens was an ancient Italic town occupying a lofty situation at the foot of the , c. 6.5 km
north of Avezzano, Abruzzo, central Italy. Its remains are today in the comune of Massa d'Albe.
It was originally a town of the Aequi, though on the frontier of the Marsi, but was occupied by a
Roman colony owing to its strategic importance. It lay on a hill just to the north of the Via Valeria,
which was probably prolonged beyond Tibur at this very period. In the Second Punic War Alba
at first remained faithful, but afterwards refused to send contingents and was punished.
After this it became a regular place of detention for important state prisoners, such as Syphax
of Numidia, Perseus of Macedonia, Bituitus, king of the Arverni. It was attacked by the allies in
the Social War, but remained faithful to Rome; and its strong position rendered it a place of
some importance in the civil wars. Its prosperity, in the imperial period, can only be inferred from
the number of inscriptions found there. It is chiefly remarkable for its finely preserved
fortifications. The external walls, which have a circuit of about 3 km, are constructed of polygonal
masonry; the blocks are carefully jointed, and the faces smoothed. With our present knowledge of
such constructions their date cannot certainly be determined.
They are not preserved to any very considerable height; but
the arrangement of the gates is clearly traceable; as a rule they
come at the end of a long, straight stretch of wall, and are
placed so as to leave the right side of any attacking force
exposed. On the north there is, for a length of about 150 m, a
triple line of defences of later date, inasmuch as both the city
wall proper, and the double wall thrown out in front of it are
partly constructed of concrete, and faced with finer polygonal
masonry (in which horizontal joints seem to be purposely
avoided).
L'Aquila contains many vestiges of its late
medieval glory and its foundation were planned
by Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen in
approximately 1245. In this city there are many
church such as the “Basilica di
S.Bernardino”, the church of S. Giusta, S.
Silvestro and of S. Maria del Soccorso, but
the main church is the” Basilica of S.Maria of
Collemaggio”. This is considered the most
famous basilica in Abruzzo. It was commenced in
1287 under Peter of Morrone, the future
Celestino V, who was coroned pope there in
1294.it is made up of pink and white marble and
it contains the remains of the S. Pietro
Celestino.
In the city there is also a castle that was erected by Don Pedro of Toledo following an uprising of the
city against the Spaniards and the architect of this building is Pirro Luigi Escriba o Scriba', the famous
architect of Castel Sant'elmo in Naples. The castle of L’Aquila is one of the most outstanding 16th
century fortresses in Italy and iside it there are the Paleonthological Section, that containg an Elephas
Meridionalis, and a Section of Sacred Art.
An other important monument is the fountain
with the 99 spouts that is situated next the to
City wall and is a masterpiece. The mask
rappresented monks feminine heads, horses
etc.and in according to the legend, these
represents the 99 castles which partecipated in
the founding of L'Aquila
At the end there is "Piazza Duomo" whereevery
day a market is conducted from early morning
until 1 p.m. and this is the ancient customs that is
born with Charles II of Anjou.
The toponym Pescus Constantii indicates the rocky basement
where the original village was established. Regarding the word
Costanzo that linked its name to a rocky mountain, there are
no information that can be considered certain.
The visit of the old town centre can start from Chiesa di
Gesù e Maria church, and nearby Franciscan Convent, where
you arrive from the station walking along the street that skirts
the public gardens. Other important place are Palazzo
Sabatini, the Collegiate church of Santa Maria del Colle,
the church of Santa Maria del Suffragio dei Morti and
Palazzo Coccopalmeri Up the street you come to the Piazza
Municipio square, one of those Italian squares that
surprises the visitors by its marvelous “as a whole”
effect.
In its centre there is Fontana maggiore the main
fountain of the village. The oldest part of the
town is the place of the castle and church of
Saint Antnio, “Peschio”. From this rock, you
sight goes towards plateaus, forests and
surrounding mountains. Many handcraft
expressions of antique traditions are still alive
here, such as filigree goldsmith, bobbin lace,
objects made of iron (used at home and made
of wrought iron) and wood(thanks to a school of
excellent carvers).
The local dish is the “Tacconi” pasta with
“orapi” (wild spinach).
The most accredited hypothesis is that the
name Sessanio derives from a corruption of
Sextantio, a small Roman settlement. The
first certain documentation on the existence
of the fortified village of S. Stefano di
Sessanio date the late 13th and early 14th
centurien such as the large fiefdom of the
Barony of Carapelle.
The village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio is perhaps
the most fascinating of all of man’s achievements in the
entire Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e dei Monti
della Laga and the village is now considered one of the
most beautiful in Abruzzo. One of its characteristic is
that its streets must be explored only on foot. The
typical food of the village are the lentils in fact its most
important food is the lentil soup served with small
squares of bread fried in olive oil.
The placename means, according to the researchers, “cut in the rock” - from
the Latin talus (cut) and cotium (rock) - to indicate the fissure that divides the
mountain, in which the urban installation has developed. In 1268 Charles the
1st of Angiò king of Sicily, defeats Corradino of Swabia at Tagliacozzo:
the battle marks the destiny of Europe for the Angioinis and the end of the
Swabians.On the northern slopes of the Simbruini mountains, not away from
the border of Lazio, this historical centre arises. The best interesting part is
the Piazza Obelisco ,is one of the most harmonic squares of Abruzzo. It is
surrounded of elegant buildings, some restructured and others in deterioration.
The Talia Theatre, an ex Benedictine convent, used as a theatre in 1686,
was renewed in 2002 after various events. It has a sober and elegant façade
and three orders of stages in the inside, where more than 200 people can be
entertained.
The Ducal building, the pearl of the artistic patrimony of Tagliacozzo, goes
back to the first half of the 14th century.
Finally we can see, in the immediate outskirts, the
Sanctuary of Maria Santissima dell’Oriente, that
goes back to the 14th century.
The gastronomy of the place gets food from the
agricultural cultivations of the Palentini Fields and of
the plain of Fucino, as well as from the breedings and
from the pastures of the surrounding mountains it is
therefore substantially mountain with Parthenopean
and Romans influences.
The most representative food stuff are: home-made
egg noodles, corn's flour porridge (polenta), lamb and
calf meat, the secular tradition of the workmanship
of pork meat with sausages, ham, loin of pork, coppa,
liver, salami, “guanciale” and bacon.
The production of sweets follows the festivities: at
Christmas pizza with walnuts and full “nivoles”; at
Carnival pancakes and “zeppoles with honey chestnuts and
“nocchietelle”; at Easter pizza and above all biscuits (little
horses and doves) manufactured by the nuns of seclusion of
the Benedictine monastery.
The local dishes are Gnocchetti with ceci, (porridge)
polenta with sausages and “spuntature” served in wood
dishes (the scifellettes), finally, the lamb with cheese and
eggs for the deliciousness of the meat.
Castel del Monte is a comune in the Province of L'Aquila in
Abruzzo, Italy. Located in the heart of Italy's Gran Sasso, the
medieval hill town is set into a steep hillside nestled beneath
mountain peaks near the high plain of Campo Imperatore. Castel
del Monte sits opposite the ancient mountaintop fortress of
Rocca Calascio and faces Monte Sirente in the distance. It is
located in the natural park known as the "Gran Sasso e Monti
della Laga National Park".
In the 4th century BC, Romans conquered the area and
established Città delle Tre Corone, the name meaning "fortified
town behind three walls". This town was later abandoned
because of the Goth Migrations or Barbarian Invasions and
replaced by the fortified town of Ricetto in what is now the oldest
part of Castel del Monte.
Porta San Rocco, the main gate to historic Castel del
Monte, until the end of the 19th Century, the town's five
gates were shut each night to keep out bandits
In 1579, the Piccolominis ceded the village as part of the
Baronage of Carapelle to Francesco dei Medici,
Grand Duke of Tuscany. The Medicis, who governed
the baronage for over a century-and-a-half, left their
imprint on Castel del Monte.
In 1743, the baronage passed to Carlo di Borbone, then king of
Naples and Sicily (later King Charles III of Spain). Castel del
Monte remained under Spanish rule until the unification of Italy in
1861.Castel del Monte's most notable resident in the 20th century
was the shepherd, poet, diarist and sculptor, Francesco Giuliani
(1888-1969).
Women castle are also skilled in the preparation
desserts, which are available when you receive
visits: Crespeglie, Calciuniglie, Mustaccioglie,
Péule, Nocciatterrati, cicerecchiole.
According to the most accredited interpretation, the name
comes from pectorale, for the breastplate shape of the town.
Others claim it derives from petra, because of the rockiness
of the area, or else from the name of a village or estate
connected with the Roman patrician Pictorius.
1229: the army of Pope Gregory IX conquers the castle of
Pettorano, inside which Frederick II’s partisans have barricaded
themselves. After this episode the emperor brings the situation back
under his own control by naming his son Frederick lord of the fief..
With the arrival of the Angevins, the entire fief is granted to the
soldier Amiel d’Angoult, lord of Courbain.
16th-17th cent.: the village enjoys its golden age, the result of the
economic recovery, the calming of the local political situation and the
introduction of new architectural types during the building expansion.
1706: a strong earthquake seriously damages almost all of the
buildings in the village…
The panorama is still one of the most beautiful in Abruzzo
The town took on its present-day shape in the late Middle
Ages, when the circuit of walls was erected with six gates, five
of which can still be seen: Porta San Nicola Porta Cencia,
Porta San Marco, Porta del Mulino and Porta Santa
Margherita.
Until the 1950s, polenta (corn meal mush) was the only dish
consumed by all those people of Pettorano who passed long
periods away from home digging coal with bill-hooks and axes.
For these humble colliers, polenta, flavored with just a bit of
herring, was their breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Polenta rognosa, always cooked in a copper cauldron and cut
into slices with a string.
Also typical of the area are mugnoli and cazzarielli, gnocchetti
made with flour and water and served with greens.