Barrea
Encyclopedia
Barrea is a comune
in the province of L'Aquila
in the Abruzzo
region of Italy
.
It is located on the shore of the Lake of Barrea, a lake created after World War II
due to the building of a dam on the River Sangro.
Perhaps mainly to protect themselves from the fierce raid of the Unnis, the inhabitants of the valley floor sheltered near a Benedictine monastery in a strategic position on the precipice of the river Sangro. Even today the monastery still exists and has withstood the ravages of man and the assault of time and the elements. In the following centuries, the inhabitants of Barrea built a tangle of practically impregnable houses along the southwestern side of the valley. Everything is protected by nature on one side and by observation towers, one round and one square, and defensive walls on the other. Historic records of this town mirror other examples found in Italy: bloody wars, rivalries and even devastating earthquakes.
One side of the original, central castle was protected from invaders by natural means, utilizing the impassably steep slope of the mountain; two stone castle gates afforded other protection to the castle and the homes that were built within its walls, dug into the slides of the mountain and giving out through front entrances facing on narrow, twisting, steep stone alleys.
Its location surrounded by the Apennines would have prevented Barrea's development into an industrial area had not other economic obstacles also existed; historically, residents existed by tending small farms in plots on the mountainside, but Italy's major activity in agriculture ended with the arrival on Europe's shores of American grain. A major emigration took place after the earthquake of 1984, when many residents declined to return to the homes that were ruined in the tremor. Many of the homes have been bought by tourists, who enjoy Barrea's location on the brow of a mountainside, giving out over the Sangro valley, but there are fewer than 1,000 permanent inhabitants.
Today, Barrea is at the center of the National Park of Abruzzo, a natural area rich in wildlife and recreation and lacking any aspect of urban commercialization. The village contains many monuments to its sufferings in World War II, when the Germans took it over and thus subjected it to Allied bombings. Perhaps the foremost village hero is Aldo DiLoreto, a captain in the Italian air medical corps, who organized resistance movements in the hills around Barrea. He was captured by a German patrol and was shot to death by an execution squad in Villeta Barrea. It is said he fell to his death saying "Long Live Italy."
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the province of L'Aquila
Province of L'Aquila
thumb|left|200px|Map of the province.The Province of L'Aquila is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated province of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part of the region...
in the Abruzzo
Abruzzo
Abruzzo is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...
region of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
It is located on the shore of the Lake of Barrea, a lake created after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
due to the building of a dam on the River Sangro.
History
The village of Barrea descends from the pre-Roman population of the Sannitis, who linked their destinies to the village. Currently, along the shores of the lake or in the nearby archaeological site of Alfedena, traces abound from this period. There is a document from the year 996 in which the ancient name of Barrea, Vallis Regia, first appears. This document also mentions that Barrea was given to the Duke of Spoleto during the dark feudal times in Italy, a period noted for its anarchic regimes and barbaric raids.Perhaps mainly to protect themselves from the fierce raid of the Unnis, the inhabitants of the valley floor sheltered near a Benedictine monastery in a strategic position on the precipice of the river Sangro. Even today the monastery still exists and has withstood the ravages of man and the assault of time and the elements. In the following centuries, the inhabitants of Barrea built a tangle of practically impregnable houses along the southwestern side of the valley. Everything is protected by nature on one side and by observation towers, one round and one square, and defensive walls on the other. Historic records of this town mirror other examples found in Italy: bloody wars, rivalries and even devastating earthquakes.
One side of the original, central castle was protected from invaders by natural means, utilizing the impassably steep slope of the mountain; two stone castle gates afforded other protection to the castle and the homes that were built within its walls, dug into the slides of the mountain and giving out through front entrances facing on narrow, twisting, steep stone alleys.
Its location surrounded by the Apennines would have prevented Barrea's development into an industrial area had not other economic obstacles also existed; historically, residents existed by tending small farms in plots on the mountainside, but Italy's major activity in agriculture ended with the arrival on Europe's shores of American grain. A major emigration took place after the earthquake of 1984, when many residents declined to return to the homes that were ruined in the tremor. Many of the homes have been bought by tourists, who enjoy Barrea's location on the brow of a mountainside, giving out over the Sangro valley, but there are fewer than 1,000 permanent inhabitants.
Today, Barrea is at the center of the National Park of Abruzzo, a natural area rich in wildlife and recreation and lacking any aspect of urban commercialization. The village contains many monuments to its sufferings in World War II, when the Germans took it over and thus subjected it to Allied bombings. Perhaps the foremost village hero is Aldo DiLoreto, a captain in the Italian air medical corps, who organized resistance movements in the hills around Barrea. He was captured by a German patrol and was shot to death by an execution squad in Villeta Barrea. It is said he fell to his death saying "Long Live Italy."