Top of the World
It is considered the "pearl" of Abruzzo and is part of the select club of the mostù beautiful villages in Italy. Pescocostanzo, a small municipality of 1196 inhabitants located 1,400 meters above sea level, lies on the slopes of Mount Calvario, in the area known as the Altipiani Maggiori d’Abruzzo. Pescocostanzo (1400 a.s.l.) has a perfectly preserved historic center rich in artistic and architectural treasures of particular value. Blossoming in the Renaissance period, the small Abruzzo village è been for centuries a forge of original and cosmopolitan artistic production, in continuous and close dialogue with the main protagonists of the seventeenth-eighteenth century cultural movement.
The historic presence of an enlightened ruling class and the favorable economic and cultural conditions allowed for the succession of great personalities in the artistic and literary fields, such as Cosimo Fanzago, a leading sculptor and architect of the European Baroque, Tanzio da Varallo, a refined painter of the Caravaggio school, and Ottavio Colecchi, a philosopher and mathematician.
Historical-artistic itinerary
Colecchi Palace (18th cent.) Major fountain (18th cent.) De Capite Palace (18th cent.) Mansi Palace (18th cent.) Municipal House (18th cent.) Fanzago Palace (Former Monastery of S. Scolastica) (17th cent.) Church of S. Nicola (17th cent.) Church of S. Maria del Suffragio dei Morti (17th-18th cent.) Collegiate Church of S. Maria del Colle (16th-18th cent.) Church and Convent of Jesusù and Mary (17th-18th cent.)
