Fraction of Castrovalva

Castrovalva is the only hamlet of Anversa degli Abruzzi, a small village situated on a rocky spur rising from Mount Sant’Angelo, 820 meters above sea level. The village, with its few inhabitants, appears as a place where time seems to have stopped, suspended between sky and earth. Reading its history, you will discover that the inhabitants of Castrovalva come from five surrounding villas. The church of San Cesidio, which belonged to Montecassino, is one of the oldest signs of this territory. Before the year 1000, the village was under the control of the abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno. The first document mentioning the name Castrovalva dates back to 1079, in the “Catalog of the Barons,” where the village is mentioned as “Castro di Valva.” Over the centuries, the village changed hands, from the Di Sangro to the D’Avalos, then to the Paschale barons of Bugnara and many others, until reaching the Pomarici of Matera, who still hold the title of marquises of Castrovalva. In the sixteenth century, the village was a fief of various noble families. In the seventeenth century, the barony of Castrovalva was elevated to a marquisate by the Roberti of Lucera. In 1817, with a decree by Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, Castrovalva was definitively united with Anversa. Looking at the village today, you will notice a strong connection with art, particularly with the Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher, who in 1929 created a lithograph depicting Castrovalva. Walking along the last hairpin bend before the village, called “Escher’s loop,” you can observe the village from the same angle immortalized in the work, with its unique perspective that makes Castrovalva even more fascinating.