Castelnuovo
Castelnuovo: A Mountain Village with a Long History
Physical Geography
Castelnuovo is a small hamlet of approximately 170 inhabitants located on the slopes of Mount Castello, in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy. The village is surrounded by the peaks of Mount Velino and is about 7 kilometers from the city of Avezzano. It borders the Albe hill (Massa d'Albe) to the west, and the Acqua in Via Valley separates it from Forme to the north.
Origins of the Name
There are two theories about the origins of the name "Castelnuovo." The first is that the name derives from the need to distinguish it from the ancient Orsini Castle (Massa d'Albe) that faces it. The second theory is that the name is related to the Latin term "Castrum," which evolved into "Castellum," from which the medieval name "Castellum Novum" originated.
History
The village of Castelnuovo was founded in the 10th century during the period of incastellamento, which was favored by the invasions of the Saracens, Normans, and Magyars who devastated the Marsica territory. Threatened and pillaged by the foreign armies, the farmers decided to live together and form a village on Mount Castello, a location already chosen as a fortified place during pre-Roman and protohistoric Italy. In addition to Castelnuovo, there are other vicus on the heights that surround the area, such as the fortified center of the mountain chain of Mount Uomo, Prato del Fosso, and Mount Mallevona. These places are located in the territory controlled by the Equi, near the Marsi border between the Solegara Valley and the Pettorino di Alba Fucens hill. The fortification of Mount Castello continued to play its defensive role in the medieval era.
Over time, the defensive role of the castle diminished, and the inhabitants founded the new inhabited center around the church of San Pancrazio, gradually descending to the slopes. The first document that mentions the existence of the village is a list dated 1173 by Guglielmo II of Sicily, where it appears with the name "Castellum Novum nei Marsi," referring to the contemporary urban center. The church of San Pancrazio, located in Pratale, is mentioned in the catalog of Barons of 1188. In the 12th century, Castelnuovo was an autonomous municipality with a coat of arms. The administrative autonomy vanished in 1807 following the laws revoking feudalism. Since 1811, the village was added to the administration of Massa Corona, which is the ancient urban center of the contemporary Massa d'Albe. In 1915, the village was destroyed by the Marsica earthquake and rebuilt throughout the 20th century. In 1960, after San Pelino (Avezzano), Antrosano and Paterno (Avezzano), Castelnuovo became the last hamlet to be included in the municipal administration of Avezzano.
Monuments and Places of Interest
Religious Architecture
The church of Giacomo il Maggiore and San Pancrazio was originally dedicated to Saint James the Apostle and was rebuilt in 1941, after being destroyed by the Marsica earthquake of 1915.
