The castle of Rocca Calascio, in Abruzzo, is considered one of the highest fortresses in Italy: it is located in fact 1460 meters d & d rsquo; height, and from its privileged position look at the Tirino Valley and the Plain of Navelli.

From a purely aesthetic point of view, at first glance it strikes for its solidity, in spite of the rugged and steep nature of the territory that It surrounds it. In fact, it is a former military fortress with a square plan, made of white limestone: the central part has the shape of a square and forms the heart of the castle, as well as the part more protected from external attacks.

Considered by National Geographic one of the fifteen most beautiful castles in the world, the Castle of Rocca Calascio once dominated a village of which only the remains exist today: in 1703, in fact, an earthquake wiped out the houses, also damaging the structure of the fortress. The restorations carried out during the 1980s restored the most visible damage, counteracting the degradation of the structure and restoring it part of its former splendor.

A destination for Italian and foreign tourism, the Castle of Rocca Calascio is very well known for having hosted the productions of numerous films successful both Italian and international: among the most famous, we must remember Lady Hawke, The Journey of the Bride, Padre Pio, The Name of the Rose , The event horizon.

Often, in the figure established to lend the Castle as a movie set, renovations of the same have been included: the cinema, therefore, is not one. limited exclusively to exploiting one of the greatest national beauties, but it has actively contributed to its recovery and its preservation over time; a virtuous example, and unfortunately also quite rare.

Rocca Calascio dominates an entire territory that appears to come intact directly from another era: & Grave; precisely by virtue of this extraordinary beauty that the film bodies responsible for the search for settings have named the castle “set par excellence” .

To visit Rocca Calascio you can go to the Gran Sasso-Laga National Park: among the many itineraries proposed to tourists, there are many who include the fortress and the land of Santo Stefano di Sessanio that surrounds it.