What is Scanno known for?

Cartier-Bresson photographed Scanno in 1951, Giacomelli's series 1957-59 made the women in black one of the most reproduced Italian images. Filigree star pendant with two hearts in the centre, traditionally given by the groom's family to the bride, still made by village goldsmiths. Largest natural lake in Abruzzo at 922 meters, formed by a Monte Genzana landslide that blocked the Tasso river.

Scanno is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo region of Italy, about 104 kilometers from Pescara.

Abruzzo · L'Aquila

Scanno

A 1,057-meter Sagittario valley village photographed by Cartier-Bresson and Giacomelli, where women in black still walk the same alleys as the 1957 series.

1057m

Elevation

104 km / 65 mi

Nearest hub (Pescara)

1,697

Population

Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Scanno sits at 1,057 meters in the Sagittario valley, ringed by the Majella foothills and the Marsicano massif. The town's medieval black costume worn by older women, with a folded headdress that some historians trace to Balkan or Eastern origins, survived because the village stayed isolated. Henri Cartier-Bresson photographed Scanno in 1951; Mario Giacomelli's series from 1957 to 1959, of women in black against limewashed walls, made it one of the most reproduced Italian villages in twentieth-century photography. The Lago di Scanno, three kilometers down the valley at 922 meters, is the largest natural lake in Abruzzo, formed by a landslide off Monte Genzana that dammed the Tasso river. Seen from the Sentiero del Cuore footpath above, the lake reads as a clean heart shape. Scanno goldsmiths still make filigree, including the presentosa, the star-and-double-heart pendant a bridegroom's family traditionally gave the bride.

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Gallery

5 photos · scroll →

Known for

Lago di Scanno
Largest natural lake in Abruzzo at 922 meters, dammed by a landslide from Monte Genzana, heart-shaped from above.
Centro storico
Stone-alley medieval centre at 1,057 meters, the setting of Cartier-Bresson's 1951 and Giacomelli's 1957-59 photographic series.
Chiesa di Santa Maria della Valle
Parish church first documented in the eleventh century, rebuilt in the seventeenth, with a Renaissance portal and Baroque interior.
Madonna del Lago
Small lakeside chapel of the Santissima Annunziata on the south shore, with its altar built against a natural rock wall.
Sentiero del Cuore
Footpath above the lake leading to the viewpoint where the heart-shape becomes visible, passing the Eremo di Sant'Egidio hermitage.
Botteghe orafe di Scanno
Goldsmith workshops in the centro storico producing filigree jewelry, including the presentosa, the betrothal star pendant of the Sagittario.

When to visit

Best months · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

June through September is the summer window: trails open in the national park, the lake holds a Blue Flag for swimming, and the centro fills with photographers chasing the Giacomelli setups. December through March is the second season for snow, with skiing on Monte Rotondo and Passo Godi nearby. April, May, October and November are quiet, with many family-run hotels closed and the lake side restaurants shuttered. Late August brings the Festa del Patrono Sant'Eustachio and processions through the alleys in costume. Winter light on the limewashed walls, framed in the black of the costume, is the photographic record's anchor.