The Castle

The origin of the village of Roccacasale and its existence during the centuries are tightly related to the presence of the castle and of the Barons De Sanctis. The fortress, with its function of defense, favored the survival of a housing nucleus so small that it would not have survived until today.

The castle of Roccacasale, set awry from the inhabited area, situated southeast of Popoli on the road to Sulmona, is a fenced castle of a triangular shape. This structure can be related to other castle-enclosures situated in the Province of Aquila, in particular the castles of Fossa, Barisciano, Popoli and San Pio Delle Camere. Closely related in style to the castle of Roccacasale is the iconography of San Pio Delle Camere even if there are some differences. The vertex of the triangle is occupied by the tower as is the case of San Pio Delle Camere and Popoli, it is a strut, while in the case of Roccacasale it is almost a square trapezoidal figure. The southeastern side of the tower has been saved from the ravages of time while the southwestern and northeastern sides have gone half-destroyed and nothing remains of the northwestern side. The ledges of the reed of the tower were obtained by circular vaults, except the last one. The remains of the tower are, however, enough to point out the importance of the vertical element of the structure not only on a defensive level but also on a configurative one in comparison to the horizontal terraced area delineating the ground around the tower which gives this type of fortress a stair-like aspect.

A particularity of the castle is that inside the enclosure there are evident rests of real stone buildings: southeast of the principal tower there is a ruin that could be the base of another tower, and a great wall posted in the inferior square with its triangular openings that once were probably the windows of the actual building. Access to the square and from there to the whole complex was possible by entering an arched door in a tower with a square base facing east and which had probably, since its origin, three sides only. The absence of the inner side of the tower permitted defense from the attacks of its assailants.

In the last years the whole complex has been readapted with the purpose of consolidating the ruins and inside the principal square a structure in steel, masonry and wood was built as a museum and meeting room that perfectly integrates with the ancient rests.

Despite the magnificence of the ancient monument which today is only history, the castle has preserved intact all of its grandeur that shines through from every single stone that gives a sense of protection to the roccolanis and leaves the tourist spellbound.