San Donato Val di Comino, at an altitude of 728 metres, dominates the Val Comino and is known as the village of stonemasons. It has been awarded the Bandiera Arancione by the Italian Touring Club in recognition of the quality of its tourism and environmental development.
gli spuort’ al tramonto
The historic core is a stone labyrinth with winding streets, alleys, covered passages, “spuort'” in dialect, and small squares in a perfect medieval design, which also had defensive purposes against the climate because the alleys break the force of the freezing wind.
panorama sulla Linea Gustav dalla Torre dei Conti d’Aquino
Guarding the village stands the Torre dei Conti d’Aquino, oriented according to the declinations of the sun, according to the equinoxes and solstices, as was customary at the time. Like a compass, it points to the four cardinal points. The tower was built in 1200 by the Counts of Aquino, the feudal family of the valley. It was a defence tower and a refuge in case of attack, with no access doors except for the one opened in the 1980s. The lower part served as a cistern.
Salita al Castello e al Santuario di San Donato Martire
Legend has it that beneath the tower there was a dragon guarding a treasure. The Tower had a secret passage, a tunnel that connected to the Sanctuary of San Donato, accessible via the steep steps leading to Largo San Donato, the heart of the ancient Castle. The tunnels were not dug but formed naturally by the rocky and steep terrain when it was levelled to erect a building above it.
Chiesa di Santa Maria e San Marcello
The Church of Santa Maria and San Marcello dates back to 1300 and was enlarged in 1700 to become a three-nave church. Since 1700, it has housed the body of the co-patron saint, Saint Constance the Martyr. During the war, it offered refuge to former Allied prisoners and Jewish internees. Above the church bell tower, there is a mask.
The masks on the portals were intended to ward off the “monacello”, the local folkloric goblin. In southern legend, the “monacelli” were fantastical figures representing children who died prematurely or before birth. These works by Sandonate stonemasons served to repel evil spirits.
A precious keystone
Walking through the main streets of the town, you will notice that the buildings are adorned with unusual stone keystones, another vivid example of the work of San Donato’s stonemasons. These are small works of art rich in symbolism that identified the social class of the families. In the early 1700s, Italy was ruled by the Habsburgs and a barracks was built on the main road leading to the mountain. At the top is the lily of the noble family.
Going up along Via Maggiore, opened in the 16th century with the development of the town downstream, you come across the so-called “stone of scandal”, where the insolvent debtor sat in 1500.
Museo del Novecento e della Shoah
The Museo del 900 e della Shoah (Museum of the Twentieth Century and the Shoah) recounts the stories of foreign Jews in San Donato Val di Comino, one of the most significant sites of German occupation, deportation and internment in Italy.
Museo del Novecento e della Shoah, Gabriella Cazar e suo figlio Italo Raffaello Levi
The museum reconstructs the history of San Donato during the Second World War in the 20th century in eight rooms, including emigration to America and the immigration of foreign Jews and political refugees.
Percorso della memoria nel borgo di San Donato
The museum is part of the Liberation Route Europe circuit, a cultural itinerary promoted by the Council of Europe that connects places, people and events that played a key role in the liberation of Europe from Nazi-Fascist occupation.
Il Memoriale della Shoah
The story is told in the Sentieri della Memoria (Paths of Remembrance), which can be explored on foot or by bicycle, connecting the places traversed by the Allies between 1943 and 1945 across Europe. The Memoriale della Shoah is also part of the village’s memorial circuit.
Memoriale della Shoah, le linee affilate
At first glance, it is a simple square, but on 27 January 2023, it became the Shoah Memorial, a large stumbling block commemorating the dramatic journey of 16 foreign Jews interned in San Donato Val di Comino who were captured by deception on 6 April 1944 and then deported to Auschwitz. The Memorial tells this story through a sequence of seven key symbols: welcome, deception, abyss, memory, hope, future, United Europe.
Albero di Natale al Rockefeller Center di New York il 21 12 1931 con dedica di Mario Cuomo fronte 1999
The world’s most famous Christmas tree at Rockefeller Centre in New York belongs to an emigrant born in 1884 in San Donato Val di Comino. His story of gratitude, resilience and pride is rooted in the industrious dignity of Cesidio Perruzza. During the Great Depression, “Joe Blaster”, as everyone in New York called him, decorated the first Christmas tree with a group of Italian workers in that square, using recycled materials to celebrate the work and life of Italian emigrants.
Gerardina riceve la foto nel 1999 dell’Albero di Natale al Rockefeller Center di New York il 21 12 1931 con dedica di Mario Cuomo
“New York thanks the people of San Donato Val di Comino.”
These are the words written by Mario Cuomo on the back of a photograph dated 24 December 1931. The former governor of New York State and son of Italian immigrants brought this story to light in 1999, donating a photograph of Christmas 1931 to the Perruzza family. The photo shows Italian workers lining up to collect their weekly pay, with the first decorated Christmas tree behind them, at the Rockefeller Centre construction site.
Foliage al valico di Forca d’Acero, San Donato Val di Comino foto da
Located within the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise, San Donato Val di Comino is an obligatory passage for those who want to cross the Forca d’Acero pass at 1538 metres above sea level, one of the most beautiful and evocative Apennine passes in the centre of Italy.
Forca d’Acero a San Donato Val di Comino
On the border with neighbouring Abruzzo, the road leading to Forca d’Acero climbs uphill and the change in temperature is noticeable. The undergrowth rich in leaves, the sun peeking through the branches swaying in the light morning breeze, the contrast of the damp asphalt that seems to flow like a river between immense trees, are the ideal subjects for unforgettable shots.
oliva cultivar Marina sandonatese
Among the traditional dishes, one must mention the unique “Cipollata”, a single dish made with onions, cheese and eggs. The Marina cultivar is said to originate from Spain, imported by the De Marinis family to plant around the walls of the Castle of San Donato. This typical Sandonatese olive is rich in antioxidants and has a very spicy flavour. One of the local oil mills houses a granite stone that is over 70 years old.
Via di Banda a San Donato Val di Comino
At the end of July, ViaDiBanda, the Street Arts and Marching Bands Festival, takes over the village with performances by bands from around the world, juggling, acrobatics, clowning and improvisational theatre. There are also tastings of local products.