The ancient village of Crecchio (CH) which conserves the appearance of an ancient borgo, dominated by the evocative Castello De Riseis-D’Aragona, stands amidst the hills that link the Adriatic coast to the Majella mountain range. The castle was built on a previous construction, a 13th century Norman tower known as “the olive tree”. Building interventions, carried out from the 15th century onwards, transformed the defensive fortification into a residential building. The southern and upper loggias (which necessitated the removal of the pre-existing merlons) and the piano nobile, used as the residence of the local lords, were all added. In 1943, the Castle hosted the Royal family of the House of Savoy and entire government as they headed to Brindisi from Rome as the owners were close friends as a lady in waiting and godmother to one of the princes. In June 1944 it was severely compromised by WWII bombing and was only restored to its present state in the 1970s. Today it is the site of the Museo Archeologico dell'Abruzzo Bizantino e Altomedievale.
Film Commission d'Abruzzo
Centro Regionale Beni Culturali - Sulmona
Phone: + 39 0864 576303
Email: crbc@regione.abruzzo.it
