What is Casoli known for?

Pentagonal Norman tower expanded over seven centuries, where D'Annunzio, Tosti, Michetti and Marconi gathered as guests of Pasquale Masciantonio. The room in the Castello where Gabriele D'Annunzio stayed and wrote thoughts on the walls, still preserved as part of the museum. Città dell'Olio member with extensive groves on the Aventino slopes, part of the Colline Teatine DOP olive oil production area.

Casoli is a comune in the province of Chieti, Abruzzo region of Italy, about 70 kilometers from Pescara.

Abruzzo · Chieti

Casoli

A 378-meter hill town above the Aventino under the Maiella, with a pentagonal Norman tower where Gabriele D'Annunzio held a Renaissance court of artists.

70 km / 43 mi

Nearest hub (Pescara)

5,154

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Casoli sitson a steep isolated hill above the Aventino river, a tributary of the Sangro, on the eastern flank of the Maiella. The pentagonal tower at the summit was built in the 12th century during the Norman period, as a refuge for the inhabitants of the Roman town of Cluviae when Saracens raided up the valley. Around it grew the Castello Ducale, held by the Orsini in the 14th-15th centuries, then the Colonna, Carafa, Crispano, Filomarino, and finally the d'Aquino, who became Dukes of Casoli in 1645. In 1900 the castle passed to the Masciantonio family. Pasquale Masciantonio, a lawyer and parliamentarian, hosted Gabriele D'Annunzio in the castle along with Francesco Paolo Tosti, Francesco Paolo Michetti, Edoardo Scarfoglio, Matilde Serao, and Guglielmo Marconi, in a sort of Renaissance court of artists and intellectuals around 1900-1910. D'Annunzio left thoughts written on the walls of his room, still preserved. The castle became a national monument in 1928 and was sold to the municipality in 1982. Four miles outside the town, Lago di Casoli (Lago Sant'Angelo) was created in 1958 by damming the Aventino.

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Gallery

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Known for

Castello Ducale (Masciantonio)
12th-century Norman pentagonal tower expanded by the Orsini, court of D'Annunzio, Tosti and Michetti under Pasquale Masciantonio around 1900, national monument since 1928.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore
Main parish church adjacent to the castle, with a Romanesque bell tower and Renaissance interior decoration, hosting the patron-saint feast.
Centro storico
Steep medieval core climbing to the castle, with palazzi of the noble families who held the duchy and views east to the Adriatic on clear days.
Lago di Casoli (Lago Sant'Angelo)
Artificial reservoir formed in 1958 by damming the Aventino to feed the Selva d'Altino hydroelectric plant, 4 miles outside the town.
Parco Nazionale della Majella
Casoli sits at the eastern gateway to the Maiella park, with trails to Fara San Martino and the Eremo di Sant'Antonio.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the productive window for Casoli. Spring is when the olive groves below the castle flower and the Maiella above stays snow-capped. May, June, and September are the most comfortable months. July and August touch the high twenties at 378 meters but the castle ridge catches breeze from the Adriatic. The olive harvest in October is the central agricultural moment. November to March is quieter; the castle museum runs on reduced hours and many trails close after rain. The patron-saint feast of Santa Reparata in October draws emigrants back to the village.