Castel di Sangro

Castel di Sangro sits at 805 meters at the confluence of the Sangro and Zittola rivers, the main town of the Alto Sangro. The Roman Aufidena, a Samnite city, stood here before the Romans. The 10th-century Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta was destroyed by the 1456 earthquake and rebuilt between 1695 and 1725 by Francesco Ferradini on a Greek-cross plan; it was declared a national monument in 1902. The town was the front line in November 1943, when the West Nova Scotia Regiment of the First Canadian Division attempted a night assault on the hilltop monastery overlooking the city. The German 3rd Battalion of the 1st Parachute Regiment held; the Canadians took heavy casualties and withdrew. In the mid-1990s, the local football club Castel di Sangro Calcio climbed five divisions in six years to reach Serie B. The American writer Joe McGinniss spent the 1996-97 season with the team and wrote The Miracle of Castel di Sangro. The club now plays four levels below where it was. Michelin-starred chef Niko Romito's Reale Casadonna is also here.