| Description: |
Perched up on a spectacular rocky spur at 758 metres above sea-level, and due to its strategic position, which makes it an ideal location to command all the area below, the relics uneartehd in the surrounding area provide evidence of the continuity of settlements over the centuries. After being a feudal domain of the Farfa Abbey and of the Farfa monks of of Santa Vittoria in Matenano, Montefalcone becomes a self-governing commune as early as 1214. All that is left of its XIII century monumental castle is a square plant stone tower.
From the charming garden ‘Giardino Tronelli’, placed on a steep slope, one can enjoy a stunning mountain scenery stretching from the Sibillini mountains to the Maiella range. But the area has many other surprises in store: from the area rich in Tertiary fossils to the one abundant in flora and as many as 33 species of wild orchids, and on up towards the soothing sound of running water of the ‘fosso della Magica Avventura’, a path made up by streams coming down from the rocks and creating small lakes and falls.
A further remarkable feature of the area is the tunnel digged in the rock in 1833 by the Papal State to make contacts with Comunanza easier: one of the oldest street galleries in Italy.
Text by Fabio Santilli
Translation by Gianfranco Martorano |