A jewel of art in the high mountains, with bobbin lace and wrought iron
On the Altopiani Maggiori d'Abruzzo, at about 1,400 metres, near the ski resorts of Roccaraso and Rivisondoli, Pescocostanzo is one of the most elegant and refined mountain villages in Italy, one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia". Its wealth, in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, came from sheep farming and the wool trade, and it allowed its inhabitants to embellish the town with stone palaces, churches, fountains and squares of surprising refinement for a village at this altitude, built in a harmonious style that combines Renaissance and Baroque, so much so that it has been called a "small capital" of the mountains.
The main monument is the Basilica of Santa Maria del Colle, with a Baroque interior of great richness, with gilded wooden ceilings, carved altars and a splendid wrought-iron gate, a masterpiece of the local smiths, made at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Pescocostanzo is in fact famous for its crafts, which are still alive: bobbin lace (merletto a tombolo), made by the women with patience and skill, wrought iron, goldsmith's art, with the traditional "presentosa" pendants, and wood carving. In the shops of the village you can see the artisans at work. Near the village, the Bosco di Sant'Antonio is an ancient forest of monumental beeches, once sacred to the Italic peoples, with huge trees of extraordinary shapes. In winter, Pescocostanzo is a quiet base for skiing in the nearby slopes.
Tip: visit the lace and goldsmith workshops; walk in the Bosco di Sant'Antonio in autumn, when the beeches turn golden.
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