When it comes to driving, the Gran Sasso mountains are not for the faint-of-heart. Even the GPS couldn’t handle the remote roads leading in and out of tiny villages clinging like lichen to steep cliffs.
Nonetheless, we maneuvered tiny roads the GPS could not find, through villages where you wondered how they survived, to the ruins of one of Europe’s most intact castles, Rocca Calascio, and the amazing, octagon-shaped Chapel of the Madonna perched on the precipice, from which you can see the massive valley and the small mountain town in the distance.
Built in the 1240’s by Emperor Frederick II, it was clearly intended as a place to signify power, almost religious symbolism of using an unscalable precipice as a place to build a castle. It’s very presence is a statement of power and defiance. Views from miles and miles from the plains that descend below, you can almost picture the guards taking turns watching for marauders or armies of enemies…
Amazingly, it is very intact and has been used by movie makers for decades.
It is a bit of a steep climb, though not so bad a many with a cane was seen climbing with determination. The parking lot is small and easily overwhelmed, a large bronze plaque describes in English the grand history.
Nearby is a building constructed a millenia later — the Church of the Madonna. Octagonal in shape, visitas to create awe and a great place for the OutspokenTraveler to have a grand moment.
Outspoken Traveler 
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