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Stemma di Castelvecchio Subequo

Abruzzo · L'Aquila

Castelvecchio Subequo

under Monte Sirente, the Roman Superaequum and Franciscan station where the saint himself built a convent between 1221 and 1261.

Known for

  • SAN FRANCESCO

    Convent founded 1221-1261 on land Francis himself was given, with frescoes of his life and a relic of his stigmata blood.

  • SUPERAEQUUM

    Roman municipal town of the Paeligni mentioned by Pliny, with 4th-century Christian catacombs cut into the rock.

  • SIRENTE

    Sits at the foot of the 2,348-meter Monte Sirente, inside the boundaries of the Sirente-Velino regional park.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J
  • F
  • M
  • A
  • M
  • J
  • J
  • A
  • S
  • O
  • N
  • D
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

The festa: Giovanni Battista, 24 June

Why come

Castelvecchio Subequo sits on a rocky spur of Monte Putano, at the foot of Monte Sirente in the Subequana valley. It stands on the site of Roman Superaequum, a municipal town of the Paeligni mentioned by Pliny, and was called Onuffolo under the Lombards before returning to its Latin name under the Normans. A 4th-century Christian catacomb cemetery, among the oldest in Abruzzo, was cut into the rock here.

Saint Francis of Assisi passed through between 1216 and 1222, and the Counts of Celano donated him a small church around which the Convento di San Francesco was built between 1221 and 1261, a national monument since 1902 with Giottesque 14th-century frescoes of his life. Pope Celestine V stayed in 1294. The village is widely called the little Assisi of Abruzzo. The convent still holds a 14th-century crystal reliquary said to contain blood from Francis's stigmata.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Castelvecchio Subequo’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

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Castelvecchio Subequo — photo 1
Castelvecchio Subequo — photo 2

What to see

  • Convento di San Francesco

    Franciscan church and convent founded 1221-1261 on land donated to Saint Francis by the Counts of Celano, with Giottesque frescoes.

  • Museo d'Arte Sacra

    Convent museum holding reliquaries, the 1403 altar cross, and the silver Pasquarella sculpture donated by the Counts of Celano.

  • Catacombe paleocristiane

    Fourth-century Christian catacomb cemetery cut into the rock, among the earliest evidence of Christianity in Abruzzo.

  • Resti del castello medievale

    Ruins of the original Castelvetere fortification on the upper rocky spur, source of the modern town name meaning old castle.

  • Monte Sirente

    2,348-meter limestone massif rising behind the village, the dominant peak of the Sirente-Velino regional park.

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Living here

  • Population 832
  • Off the beaten pathi
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Nearest airport Rome, 2 h 23 min drive
  • Regional capital L'Aquila, 56 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 409 m
  • Population: 832
  • Surface area: 19.29 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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