The historic centre of Casoli

Houses set in rings around the tower, with the streets broken at every ring so that nobody could climb straight to the top.

The story

Casoli, historians say, can be taken as the direct descendant of Cluviae, capital of the Samnite tribe of the Carecini Supernates, which became a Roman municipium in 310 BC and was inhabited at least until the 4th century AD, when the arrival of the barbarians forced its people to take refuge on the nearby hill. The name of the historic centre comes from the Roman place name Casulae, meaning a cluster of small houses set to guard a busy road and trade route between the mountains and the sea.

The settlement, which in the early Middle Ages belonged to the Chieti gastaldate, was turned by the Lombards into a castrum running from the foot of the hill up to its summit, with the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. From the 12th century Casoli formed part of the county of Manoppello, passing over time through the hands of several feudal lords: the Orsini, the Colonna, the Carafa and the D'Aquino, until feudal rights were abolished.

The wrapping pattern

What sets the historic centre of Casoli apart from many others is its typical wrapping layout: starting from the castle tower, which acts as the pivot of the whole settlement, the buildings were set out in rings following the contour lines, taking care to break the streets at each new ring of houses — so that they did not run straight from the bottom to the top but were interrupted by walls, making them easier for the guards to defend.

Between the 15th and 16th centuries Casoli settled its town plan, traces of which still survive in the upper part, once enclosed by walls and watched over by defensive towers, with three gates: Porta Cencio in Piazza del Popolo, Porta da Piedi at the end of via Scalelle, and Porta Carrozza, probably in largo Rossetti. The old town is made up mostly of small houses and is crossed by twelve streets linked by alleys.

The palaces and the storage jars

In the 17th century the population grew sharply, the town was enlarged and several aristocratic palaces were built which still stand today: Travaglini-De Vincentiis in Piazza del Tempio, opposite the church of Santa Maria Maggiore; palazzo Tilli in via Settentrione, up against the town wall, dating from the 18th century and recently restored; palazzo Ricci in via Centrale; palazzo De Cinque, of the 19th century.

Among the striking glimpses to be had are the murals commissioned by the municipality, and the large storage jars in Maiella stone, made by the stonecutters of Pennapiedimonte to hold oil — held to be among the best in Italy, and in particular the oil produced at Piano La Roma, the centuriated plateau on which the ancient Italic and Roman town of Cluviae stood.

The internment camp

One cannot overlook, within the historic centre, the building that housed internees of several European nationalities. In the province of Chieti there were six concentration camps and more than twenty internment sites for opponents of the Fascist and Nazi regimes, Roma, Jews and foreign nationals. The Casoli camp was in use from 1940 to 1943; there was no lack of acts of solidarity by local people towards the internees, when these were allowed out and could be in contact with others.

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