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..Cesacastina falls within the commune Crognaleto, in the Province of Teramo which is found in the Abruzzo region of Italy. The localities (frazioni) of Cervaro, Macchia Vomano, Nerito, Poggio Umbricchio, San Giorgio, Tottea also belong to Crognaleto. Cesacastina is located in a protected national park area, Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga.
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.Many people come to visit this beautiful village during the splendid summer season of the year. The nighttime air is fresh and cool during warm months of July and August.
In the main piazza one hears the animated voices of gleeful children as happy families wander about taking their nightly evening stroll (”passeggiata”).
..On Sudays masses are held in the local church. Behind the main altar rest statues of The Virgin Mother, Jesus, and Saint Gabriele (the saint of the young in Italy who is revered throughout Abruzzo).
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..The church graveyard sits at a slightly lower elevation less than 100 meters from the main piazza.
Cesacastina once had many houses with that had what Americans call Dutch Doors. The purpose of these doors was to keep chickens and other fowl out of the house and to keep wandering toddlers within the house while their parents went about their daily chores. A few of these structures remain today.
In days gone by families would inscribe their names on large stones overhanging doors or placed in the walls of the homes. One such family who followed this practice went by the name Berardino. The stone rests in place to this day.
Cesacastina is famous for an abandoned woodmill, Silea, owned and operated by members of the powerful D’Angelo family. It has since moved to the town of Basciano just past Montorio al Vomano to the east in the direction of the Adriatic Sea.
Near Cesacastina lie many tratturi, that is paths, which served as migration routes for sheep as the traveled in the spring and fall seasons between the hills of Abruzzo and the plains of Lazio, Campania, and Calabria. The main road from Cesacastina travels to the north and to the east through the villages of Cortino and Valle San Giovanni before finally arriving in Teramo.
Cesacastina – The Switzerland of Abruzzo
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