What is Goriano Sicoli known for?

M.C. Escher drew the village in 1929; the print is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington. May ritual for the local virgin saint, read by folklorists as a survival of the Demeter and Kore agrarian myth. Monumental stone fountain inaugurated 28 October 1888, the centerpiece of Piazza della Fontana.

Where is Goriano Sicoli?

Goriano Sicoli is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo region of Italy, about 80 kilometers from Pescara.

Abruzzo · L'Aquila

Goriano Sicoli

At 720 meters in the Subequana valley, the medieval village M.C. Escher drew in 1929 and a May ritual the folklorists trace to Demeter.

720m

Elevation

80 km / 50 mi

Nearest hub (Pescara)

511

Population

May–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi Autentici

Why come

Goriano Sicoli sits at 720 meters in the Subequana valley, in the eastern Marsica between L'Aquila and the Adriatic. Italian documents reference the village from 816, though local tradition claims a Roman foundation. M.C. Escher drew the village in 1929; the print hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The Piazza della Fontana is dominated by a monumental fountain inaugurated 28 October 1888. The annual draw is the May ritual for Santa Gemma, the local virgin saint, which folklorists read as a survival of the Greek-Cretan Demeter and Kore agrarian cycle myth, layered into a Christian feast between the 14th and 16th centuries. Population is about 511 and falling. The village survives on its position: the Terni-Sulmona railway runs through, and the A25 autostrada is twenty minutes away, putting Pescara within an hour.

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Gallery

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Known for

Santuario di Santa Gemma
Sanctuary to the local virgin saint, focus of the annual May ritual that folklorists trace to a Demeter and Kore agrarian myth.
Piazza della Fontana
Central piazza dominated by a monumental stone fountain inaugurated 28 October 1888, the social heart of the village.
Borgo medievale
Stone village climbing the slope, the same view M.C. Escher drew in 1929 in a print now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
Valle Subequana
Open valley between Sirente and the eastern Marsica, agricultural land and small herds running between Sulmona and L'Aquila.

When to visit

Best months · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through October is the active window. The Santa Gemma feast falls in early May and is the moment the village fills, with returning emigrants and locals from neighboring villages walking the streets all day. June, September and early October are the cleanest months for walking: cool mornings, long evenings, and the Subequana valley still green. July and August are warm in the valley below, cooler in the village, and the population thins as the older residents retreat indoors in the afternoon. November through April is quiet. Snow lands on the higher slopes, the Terni-Sulmona train keeps running, and the village holds at its 500 residents.