What to see in Civitella?
Civitella del Tronto (645m.) Is a municipality included in the area of the Gran Sasso National Park and the Monti della Laga. Village of unparalleled beauty and town rich in charm and history (in fact, it is in the prestigious category of “The most beautiful villages in Italy”) located at the northern end of the region, almost on the border with the Marche. Above all it is famous for its historic fortress, one of the most impressive in Italy (more than 500 meters long and with a surface area of more than 25,000 square meters), known in the Middle Ages and the Risorgimento for the memorable sieges suffered in 1053, in 1557, in 1798 and in 1806.
In 1861 it was the last stronghold of the Bourbon kingdom to surrender, on March 20 and after a siege lasting over six months, to the nascent unit of Italy. In the inhabited centre, you can admire noble medieval and Renaissance houses as well as numerous churches and historic buildings. Monuments of considerable interest are the churches of S. Francesco (XIV century), of S. Lorenzo (XII-XVIII century) and, just outside the historical centre, the church and the convent of S. Maria dei Lumi (XIII century.).
Civitella del Tronto is dominated to the west by the “Monti Gemelli” (or Montagna dei Fiori, 1,814 m.). Where the Vibrata torrent is born and which are divided by a deep gorge into which the Salinello River flows. The area today, is protected by the Natural Reserve of the “Gole del Salinello”. At the entrance to the canyon, is the prehistoric “cave of the hermitage of S. Angelo”, one of the wildest and most spectacular images of the entire Abruzzo.