Castelli

Castelli, a medieval small town, one of Italy's most beautifula

Castelli is a small town situated in the province of Teramo, located nearby Gran Sasso and Laga Mountains National Park. Like Civitella Del Tonto, Castelli also belongs to "Club dei Borghi più belli d'Italia" (The Club of Italy's Most Beautiful Ancient Small Cities) and it is definitely worth seeing. Its ideal geographical position offers a breathtaking view over Gran Sasso Mountains, with colours, fragrances and details changing every season, always surprising the visitors. At Castelli you'll experience the strong feeling of going back in the past, actually Castelli is a small medieval centre protected by an old castle, that in the past defended its inhabitants from external aggressions, and that nowadays seems to protects its territory from the invasions of the modernity and urbanisation process that might steal its fascination.

Castelli's ceramics and majolica

Don't miss The Ceramics Museum and San Giovanni Battista's church, with its "Cappella di Santa Croce" (Holy Cross Chapel). The Chapel was built in 1601 by Orazio Pompei's sons after his death. Inside the chapel there is a gorgeous majolica ceiling of great value, dating from 1615 –1617, representing different decorations such as animals, geometrical figures, portraits, saints. The beauty of this Chapel impressed a lot Carlo Levi, who described it as "the Sistine Chapel of Italian majolica". It holds also a majolica altar-piece by Francesco Grue (1647).

San Rocco Church, dating from the 15th century, where the image of Virgin Mary by Andrea De Litio has been seen crying, is also very impressing to see.