Casoli

Description

Casoli is situated on a foothill of the Majella mountain, at the base of which runs the Aventino River, tributary of the Sangro. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 5,901 and an area of 66 square kilometres (25 mi2).

Casoli borders the following municipalities: Altino, Civitella Messer Raimondo, Gessopalena, Guardiagrele, Palombaro, Roccascalegna, Sant'Eusanio del Sangro. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

The closest airport is Abruzzo Airport, which is 35 miles drive. It is a 19-mile drive to the nearest beaches, Fossacesia Marina or Lido di Casalbordino. The town hospital is Presidio Ospedaliero Consalvi, but does also have the ASL 2-Guardia Medica di Cassoli medical center in town. The closest train station is in Lanciano, which is 15 miles away. 4 miles from town is the picturesque Lake Casoli, also known as Lago Sant'Angelo.

History

It was the ancient settlement of Cluviae, a city of the Caraceni tribe that was the territory most probably conquered by Lombards in the 6th century.

The medieval name "castri de Casule" was first recorded in 878 AD in the Memoriatorium abbatis Berthari, a manuscript conserved in the Abbey of Monte Cassino.

The village was controlled, in the fourteenth century by the Orsini family, who fortified the Norman castle. Casoli became famous as part cultirale in the nineteenth century, when the Mayor Pasquale Masciantonio housed in the castle the poet Gabriele d'Annunzio. In World War II, Casoli did not suffer severe bombing, because it was declared a "free city" for the displaced.

Main sights

Castello Masciantonio: Norman castle of the eleventh century, with a tower and fortified ducal palace, which houses a museum. The room that housed Gabriele d'Annunzio is of particular interest for a dithyramb written by d'Annunzio on the wall, in thanks.

Church of Santa Maria Maggiore: It was one of the Orsini chapel (14th century), and later in the seventeenth century it became a real church. It has a rectangular plan, with a side porch, Baroque mold.