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Castel del Monte (AQ)
Encyclopedia
Castel del Monte is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and comune
in the province of L'Aquila
in northern Abruzzo
, Italy. Located in the heart of Gran Sasso
mountain range, the town is set into a steep hillside nestled beneath mountain peaks near the high plain of Campo Imperatore
. Castel del Monte sits opposite the ancient mountaintop fortress of Rocca Calascio
and faces Monte Sirente in the distance. It is located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park
.
. In the 4th century BC, Romans
conquered the area and established Città delle Tre Corone, the name meaning "town of the three crowns". This town was later abandoned after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
, and replaced by the fortified town of Ricetto
in what is now the oldest part of Castel del Monte.
The first recorded mention of Castellum Del Monte came in 1223 in a papal bull
by Pope Honorius III
. In 1298, the Counts of Aquaviva took possession of the town. In 1474, it passed to Alessandro Sforza
and a short time later to the Piccolomini
s. In 1501, forces loyal to Spain
plundered Castel del Monte because of the town's allegiance to France
.
In 1579, the Piccolominis ceded the village as part of the Baronage of Carapelle to Francesco de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The Medici, who governed the baronage for over a century-and-a-half, left their imprint on Castel del Monte. Among the Medici legacies to the town is the construction of Chiesa "Matrice" di San Marco in 1657, whose tower is one of the dominant architectural features of Castel del Monte; the painting of St. John the Baptist in the church of Madonna del Suffragio by Bernardino di Lorenzo di Monaldo (circa 1585) commissioned by Francesco de' Medici himself; and the diminutive Chiesa di San Rocco (1656).
The town’s massive defensive walls, largely formed by "wall houses", and its great gates, were also completed under this period of Medici rule.
In 1743, the baronage passed to Charles of Bourbon, then king of Naples and Sicily (later King Charles III of Spain
). The village became part of Italy in 1861.
(the Italian Statistical Institute), Castel del Monte's resident population on January 1, 2008 was just 463, well below the town’s population in earlier centuries.
Until recent times, Castel del Monte’s economic wellbeing has been tied to sheep farming. Between the 12th century and 16th century, the area was one of the most prolific wool producers in Europe. This prosperity continued until the end of the Transhumance
, an annual sheep drive south to Apulia, which ceased in the 1850s. Though Castel del Monte continued to produce wool, pecorino cheese and lamb, the economy never recovered to its pre-1850s level and the town’s population steadily declined. This population decline accelerated in the second half of the 20th century when significant numbers of Castel del Monte's residents migrated to Wallonia, many to work in its coal mines. Others migrated to France
, Switzerland
, the United Kingdom
, and the United States
. In recent years, former residents who emigrated to French-speaking countries and their children have been returning to Castel del Monte with more frequency for vacations and, in some cases, to retire.
Tourism is central to Castel del Monte’s economic hopes. The absence of economic development in the 20th century meant there was little new construction in Castel del Monte within the past 100 years. As a result, most structures in Castel del Monte are several centuries old, and many are little changed from the Middle Ages
or Renaissance
. The creation of Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga
in 1993, which Castel del Monte lies entirely within, assures that the land surrounding the town will remain forever wild, thus preserving Castel del Monte in a near pristine state.
Castel del Monte's biggest tourist event is La Notte delle Streghe or The Night of the Witches, an annual event for which the town is well-known. Held in mid-August, thousands visit the town for the late-night spectacle where the entire historic district serves as a stage for residents who play the roles of townspeople and witches in a folk drama in the local dialect known as "Castellano".
In 2006, Castel del Monte was named one of the "borghi più belli d'Italia", the most beautiful villages of Italy. In return for this honor, the town agreed to promote historic preservation and environmental protection. The town has also been recognized by the Slow Food
movement for its sustainable agriculture, in particular its canestrato cheese.
Castel del Monte is the principal location of The American
, a suspense film, released September 1, 2010, directed by Anton Corbijn
. The film's central character "Jack", played by George Clooney
, holes up in Castel Del Monte hoping to escape from his past.
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 northern 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...
, Italy. Located in the heart of Gran Sasso
Gran Sasso
Gran Sasso d'Italia is a mountain located in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. The Gran Sasso forms the centerpiece of the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park which was established in 1993 and holds the highest mountains in continental Italy south of the Alps and is part of the...
mountain range, the town is set into a steep hillside nestled beneath mountain peaks near the high plain of Campo Imperatore
Campo Imperatore
Campo Imperatore is a mountain grassland or alpine meadow formed by a high basin shaped plateau located in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy in the Gran Sasso massif. It is the largest plateau of the Apennine ridge...
. Castel del Monte sits opposite the ancient mountaintop fortress of Rocca Calascio
Rocca Calascio
Rocca Calascio is a mountaintop fortress or rocca in the Province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy.At an elevation of 1460 metres, the Rocca of Calascio is the highest fortress in the Apennines...
and faces Monte Sirente in the distance. It is located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park
Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park
The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park is a natural park in Italy, which was established in 1991. It has an area of 2,014 square kilometres...
.
History
The name Castel del Monte is from the Latin Castellum Montis, meaning "fortress of the mountain". The first evidence of human settlement are artifacts from the 11th century BC discovered in the valley beneath Castel del Monte and believed to be from an ancient necropolisNecropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
. In the 4th century BC, Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
conquered the area and established Città delle Tre Corone, the name meaning "town of the three crowns". This town was later abandoned after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
, and replaced by the fortified town of Ricetto
Ricetto
A Ricetto was a small fortified area used in Italian villages for protection of the residents in case of attack, particularly from marauders and bands of soldiers and mercenaries from invading armies....
in what is now the oldest part of Castel del Monte.
The first recorded mention of Castellum Del Monte came in 1223 in a papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
by Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III , previously known as Cencio Savelli, was Pope from 1216 to 1227.-Early work:He was born in Rome as son of Aimerico...
. In 1298, the Counts of Aquaviva took possession of the town. In 1474, it passed to Alessandro Sforza
Alessandro Sforza
Alessandro Sforza was an Italian condottiero and lord of Pesaro, the first of the Pesaro line of the Sforza family.-Biography:...
and a short time later to the Piccolomini
Piccolomini
Piccolomini is the name of an Italian noble family, which was prominent in Siena from the beginning of the 13th century onwards. In 1220, Engelberto d'Ugo Piccolomini received the fief of Montertari in Val d'Orcia from the emperor Frederick II as a reward for services rendered...
s. In 1501, forces loyal to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
plundered Castel del Monte because of the town's allegiance to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
In 1579, the Piccolominis ceded the village as part of the Baronage of Carapelle to Francesco de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The Medici, who governed the baronage for over a century-and-a-half, left their imprint on Castel del Monte. Among the Medici legacies to the town is the construction of Chiesa "Matrice" di San Marco in 1657, whose tower is one of the dominant architectural features of Castel del Monte; the painting of St. John the Baptist in the church of Madonna del Suffragio by Bernardino di Lorenzo di Monaldo (circa 1585) commissioned by Francesco de' Medici himself; and the diminutive Chiesa di San Rocco (1656).
The town’s massive defensive walls, largely formed by "wall houses", and its great gates, were also completed under this period of Medici rule.
In 1743, the baronage passed to Charles of Bourbon, then king of Naples and Sicily (later King Charles III of Spain
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
). The village became part of Italy in 1861.
Population and economy
According to the Istituto Nazionale di StatisticaIstituto Nazionale di Statistica
Istituto Nazionale di Statistica is the Italian national statistical institute.-History:Istat was created in 1926 to collect and organize essential data about the nation. Administering the census is one of its activities...
(the Italian Statistical Institute), Castel del Monte's resident population on January 1, 2008 was just 463, well below the town’s population in earlier centuries.
Transhumance
Transhumance is the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and to lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Only the herds travel, with...
, an annual sheep drive south to Apulia, which ceased in the 1850s. Though Castel del Monte continued to produce wool, pecorino cheese and lamb, the economy never recovered to its pre-1850s level and the town’s population steadily declined. This population decline accelerated in the second half of the 20th century when significant numbers of Castel del Monte's residents migrated to Wallonia, many to work in its coal mines. Others migrated to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In recent years, former residents who emigrated to French-speaking countries and their children have been returning to Castel del Monte with more frequency for vacations and, in some cases, to retire.
Tourism is central to Castel del Monte’s economic hopes. The absence of economic development in the 20th century meant there was little new construction in Castel del Monte within the past 100 years. As a result, most structures in Castel del Monte are several centuries old, and many are little changed from the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
or Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
. The creation of Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga
Gran Sasso
Gran Sasso d'Italia is a mountain located in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. The Gran Sasso forms the centerpiece of the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park which was established in 1993 and holds the highest mountains in continental Italy south of the Alps and is part of the...
in 1993, which Castel del Monte lies entirely within, assures that the land surrounding the town will remain forever wild, thus preserving Castel del Monte in a near pristine state.
Castel del Monte's biggest tourist event is La Notte delle Streghe or The Night of the Witches, an annual event for which the town is well-known. Held in mid-August, thousands visit the town for the late-night spectacle where the entire historic district serves as a stage for residents who play the roles of townspeople and witches in a folk drama in the local dialect known as "Castellano".
In 2006, Castel del Monte was named one of the "borghi più belli d'Italia", the most beautiful villages of Italy. In return for this honor, the town agreed to promote historic preservation and environmental protection. The town has also been recognized by the Slow Food
Slow Food
Slow Food is an international movement founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It was the first established part of...
movement for its sustainable agriculture, in particular its canestrato cheese.
Castel del Monte is the principal location of The American
The American (2010 film)
The American is a 2010 American thriller film directed by Anton Corbijn and starring George Clooney, Thekla Reuten, Violante Placido, Irina Björklund, and Paolo Bonacelli. It is an adaptation of the 1990 novel A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth...
, a suspense film, released September 1, 2010, directed by Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer, music video and film director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both for more than a decade...
. The film's central character "Jack", played by George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
, holes up in Castel Del Monte hoping to escape from his past.