The highest fortress in the Apennines, set of many films
On a rocky ridge at about 1,460 metres, on the southern edge of Campo Imperatore, Rocca Calascio is one of the highest fortresses in Italy and the highest in the Apennines, and one of the most spectacular and photographed places in Abruzzo. Built around the tenth or eleventh century as a simple watchtower, it was enlarged in the following centuries with a wall and four cylindrical corner towers, and was part of a network of fortifications that controlled the surrounding territory and the routes of the transhumance, the seasonal migration of flocks between the mountains of Abruzzo and the plains of Apulia. Damaged by the earthquake of 1703, it was abandoned, but its ruins, perched on the rock with a view that sweeps over the Gran Sasso, the Majella and the valleys below, are of extraordinary beauty.
Its scenic position made it a favourite location for cinema: it was the setting for famous films such as "Ladyhawke" (1985) by Richard Donner, with Michelle Pfeiffer and Rutger Hauer, "Il nome della rosa" (1986) by Jean-Jacques Annaud, and "The American" (2010) with George Clooney. A short walk from the fortress, the small octagonal church of Santa Maria della Pietà, of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, stands alone on the ridge, creating, together with the castle, one of the most iconic images of the Apennines. Below the fortress, the medieval village of Rocca Calascio has been partially restored and offers accommodation in an albergo diffuso and a refuge.
Tip: go at sunrise or sunset for the best light; leave the car in the village and walk up the path to the fortress.
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