What is Pacentro known for?

Fourteenth-century fortress with three surviving towers built by the Caldora-Cantelmo family, restored by the comune after 1957. Barefoot race down Monte Ardinghi on the first Sunday of September, documented since the fifteenth century. Ancestral village of singer Madonna, whose paternal grandparents emigrated to the United States in 1919.

Pacentro is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo region of Italy, about 87 kilometers from Pescara.

Abruzzo · L'Aquila

Pacentro

A medieval village at 650 meters under the Caldora castle towers, where every September a barefoot race honors a Madonna and a pop singer's grandparents.

650m

Elevation

87 km / 54 mi

Nearest hub (Pescara)

1,083

Population

May–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Pacentro sits at 650 meters on a hill spur in the Peligna valley, eight kilometers from Sulmona and inside the Maiella National Park. The Castello Caldora, with its three surviving square towers, dominates the village from the Colle Castello above. The site has held a castle since the eleventh century; the structure visible today was begun by the Caldora-Cantelmo family in the late fourteenth century and bought by the comune in 1957 and restored. On the first Sunday of September, the Corsa degli Zingari sends barefoot runners down a rocky slope from Monte Ardinghi into the village in honor of the Madonna di Loreto. The race is documented since the fifteenth century. The other thing people come for is the Ciccone house. Madonna's paternal grandparents, Gaetano Ciccone and Michelina Di Iulio, emigrated from Pacentro in 1919. The pop singer visited in 2013.

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Gallery

7 photos · scroll →

Known for

Castello Caldora-Cantelmo
Late fourteenth-century fortress on the Colle Castello, three of its four corner towers still standing, restored after 1957.
Borgo medievale
Stone houses arranged on terraces below the castle, listed among the Borghi più belli d'Italia, preserved in its medieval plan.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore
Sixteenth-century parish church with a baroque interior, holding the Madonna di Loreto honored in the September race.
Monte Ardinghi
Slope above the village from which barefoot runners descend in the Corsa degli Zingari, one of Italy's oldest documented races.
Casa Ciccone
Ancestral home of Madonna's paternal grandparents, who left Pacentro for the United States in 1919, marked with a plaque.
Parco Nazionale della Majella
Pacentro lies inside the park, with trails east toward the Guado di Coccia pass and the Cinquemiglia plain.

When to visit

Best months · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through October is when Pacentro opens. The first Sunday of September brings the Corsa degli Zingari and the biggest crowd of the year, with runners descending barefoot from Monte Ardinghi and the village in procession by evening. July and August can be warm in the valley but the elevation keeps Pacentro itself cooler than Sulmona below. November through April is quiet. Snow falls on the higher Maiella, and many of the village's restaurants close for winter. The castle keeps reduced hours. October light on the stone houses and the surviving towers is what photographers come for.