The Medici village of white stone reborn with the albergo diffuso
On a hill at about 1,250 metres, on the edge of the Campo Imperatore plateau, Santo Stefano di Sessanio is one of the most beautiful and best preserved medieval villages in Abruzzo, one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia". Built entirely of white-grey limestone, with houses huddled together, arches, external staircases, loggias and covered passages, it was for centuries a centre of transhumance and of the wool trade: from 1579 it belonged to the Medici of Florence, who bought the barony to control the production of the "carfagna" wool, a coarse dark wool that was sold in Florence, and their coat of arms can still be seen on the gate of the village. With the decline of transhumance in the twentieth century, the village was almost completely depopulated.
Its rebirth began at the end of the 1990s, when the Italian-Swedish entrepreneur Daniele Kihlgren bought many abandoned houses and created Sextantio, one of the first and most famous "alberghi diffusi" in Italy, a hotel spread across the village, restored with respect for the original materials, the old furniture and the traditional crafts, which has become a model of sustainable tourism. The symbol of the village, the Medici tower, collapsed in the 2009 earthquake and was later rebuilt. Santo Stefano is also famous for its lentils, small and tasty, grown on the plateau at high altitude, which are served in the restaurants of the village in soups with chestnuts or mushrooms.
Tip: spend a night in the albergo diffuso; taste the local lentil soup; combine the visit with Rocca Calascio, a few kilometres away.
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