Located on the mountain of the same name, Collis Altus, Collalto Sabino is immersed in an ancient, evocative atmosphere. Thanks to its splendid stone doorways and houses and narrow cobblestone alleys, it was included in the List of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy.
Of great interest is the perfectly preserved 17th-and 18th-century Baronial Castle, consisting of a central square tower, two round corner towers, and a series of watchtowers, ramparts, and sentry stations. From the top of the keep, it is possible to admire a 360-degree panorama of the Mounts Gran Sasso, Terminillo, and Maiella. The castIe also hosts a large park and an ancient well. The impressive scenery reaches its maximum splendour at sunset, when the thirty-four surrounding villages, all visible from the fortress, light up.
A beautiful fifteenth-century portal leads to the Convent of Santa Maria, located just outside the centre of the village. Also noteworthy are the ruins of the ancient Montagliano.
The Church of the Madonna della Speranza
In Piazza della Podesteria, stands a beautiful octagonal fountain and the recently restored Palazzo Latini from the seventeenth century. Annexed to the Villino Latini, stands the Neo-Gothic Church of the Madonna della Speranza, dating back to the second half of the eighteenth century.
The Church and Hermitage of San Giovanni in Fistola – borghidelturano.it
On the summit of Mount San Giovanni, we can find the remains of the ancient Church of San Giovanni in Fistola, built on a pre-existing Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter Pollens. The small church was part of an hermitage dating back to the first half of the year 1000. An old disused mill stands by a fast-flowing stream between two rock walls into the valley.
Pizza de’nfrasco-discoverplaces.travel
Typical specialities of Collalto Sabino are wheat and corn flour gnocchi, broad bean soup, fettuccine with porcini mushrooms, and the pizza de’nfrasco cooked under the embers, whose ingredients include chestnuts, honey, and cheese.
Collalto Sabino at Christmas – Facebook @proloco.sabino
From mid-November to just before Christmas Eve, Collalto Sabino turns into a Santa Claus Village. The cellars host artisans and small local producers, and Santa Claus receives the traditional letters, while the alleys resound with the music of bagpipes and the cheerful laughters of the children on ponies and the Santa’s sleigh.