What is Castel del Monte known for?

Between the 12th and 16th centuries one of Europe's top wool producers; the Medici bought here. The trade ended in the 1850s. Mid-August folk drama with residents as townspeople and witches in the medieval streets, the village's biggest annual event. Hard sheep's-milk cheese of the transhumance, still made in Castel del Monte from spring pastures, a Slow Food presidio product.

Where is Castel del Monte?

Castel del Monte is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo region of Italy, about 73 kilometers from Pescara.

Abruzzo · L'Aquila

Castel del Monte

At 1,346 meters under Monte Bolza facing Rocca Calascio, the capital of shepherds, whose wool reached the Medici and whose witches return each August.

1346m

Elevation

73 km / 45 mi

Nearest hub (Pescara)

431

Population

Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Castel del Monte sits at 1,346 meters in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, on the southern slope of Monte Bolza, with Rocca Calascio facing it across the valley and Campo Imperatore stretching north. The village descends from the pre-Roman Vestini; finds from an 11th-century BC necropolis lie in the valley below. Between the 12th and 16th centuries, the area was one of the most prolific wool producers in Europe, and the Medici came north to buy. The transhumance ended in the 1850s, and the village emptied along with the wealth. 431 people remain. The annual transhumance is still performed in symbolic form. The August event called La Notte delle Streghe, the Night of the Witches, fills the medieval streets and tunnels with thousands for a folk drama in which residents play townspeople and witches; it is the village's biggest gathering by some distance. The Canestrato di Castel del Monte, a sheep's-milk cheese of the transhumance, is still made here. The mother church is the Chiesa Matrice di San Marco. The Borgo dei Pastori, the abandoned shepherds' quarter, is being slowly restored.

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Gallery

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Known for

Chiesa Matrice di San Marco
Mother church of Castel del Monte, with a baroque interior and the village's patron-saint statue carried in the August procession.
Chiesa di San Donato Fuori le Mura
Romanesque church just outside the medieval walls, one of the village's oldest religious buildings, with a small square in front used for festivals.
Chiesa della Madonna del Suffragio (dei Pastori)
Church of Our Lady of the Shepherds, devotional centre of the transhumance, with ex-votos left by herders for safe return from Puglia.
Centro storico (Borgo dei Pastori)
Medieval stone village with tunnels, vaulted passages and the abandoned shepherds' quarter slowly being restored, the stage for the Notte delle Streghe.
Campo Imperatore
27 km-long high plateau immediately north of Castel del Monte, the largest pasture of central Italy, called the little Tibet for its bare expanse.

When to visit

Best months · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

June through September is when Castel del Monte runs at full strength. Campo Imperatore opens for hiking, the Canestrato cheese makers receive visitors, and La Notte delle Streghe in mid-August packs every alley with thousands of people. December through March is the second season for skiers heading to Campo Imperatore and Prati di Tivo, with the village in deep snow. April, May, October, November are quiet and often raw; many guesthouses close. The light at 1,346 meters in late August, after the witches' night, with the herds back on the pastures, is what brings people back the following summer.