Alfedena ( la, Aufidena or Aufidenia, Abruzzese: ') is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the province of L'Aquila of the

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

region of central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It is located in the

Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (Italian: ''Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise'') is an Italian national park established in 1923. The majority of the park is located in the Abruzzo region, with smaller parts in Lazio and Molise. I ...

in the upper

Sangro The Sangro is a river in eastern central Italy, known in ancient times as Sagrus from the Greek ''Sagros'' or ''Isagros'', ''Ισαγρος''. It rises in the middle of Abruzzo National Park near Pescasseroli in the Apennine Mountains. It flows ...

valley, near the

Monti della Meta The Monti della Meta are a massif of central Italy located around the junction point of the boundaries between the regions of Lazio, Abruzzo and Molise. The major of three massifs of the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise, they take their ...

mountain chain.

History

Alfedena was founded by the

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they for ...

, who called it ''Aufidena'', because of its excellent strategic view over the high Sangro valley. It occupied two hills, both over above sea-level; in the valley between were found the supposed remains of the later

forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

. Alfedena was the setting of several conflicts through its history because of this location. It was a district of the Samnites before it was the capital town of the Caraceni tribe during their first settlement near the high Saro, the ancient name of today’s

river. Alfedena was then conquered by the Romans in 298 BC, and by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

during the 11th century.

Main sights

Many works of art, such as the Ponte Achille (Achille’s bridge), dating back to the Roman age, were destroyed by the German armed forces during the defence of the Gustav Line, in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Germans took away, as spoils, many ruins of the Italic necropolis of Campo Consolino located below the village, which counted 1400 tombs on a total amount of 12,000 tombs. Part of the stolen archeological finds were returned after an accurate restoration at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

. The archaeological excavations bear witness to the ancient presence in the area and to its historically autonomous civilization. They tombs are all true burials, of the late

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

, and date from the 7th to the 4th century BC, falling into three classesthose without

coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewel ...

, those with a coffin formed of stone slabs, and those with a coffin formed of

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...

s. Some ruins of walls built in

polygonal masonry Polygonal masonry is a technique of stone wall construction. True polygonal masonry is a technique wherein the visible surfaces of the stones are dressed with straight sides or joints, giving the block the appearance of a polygon. This techniqu ...

(also referred to as

cyclopean Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typic ...

masonry) can also be seen in the districts of Civitalta, Curino, and S. Nicola, with some columns and ruins of a temple brought to life by excavations. The village boasts an ancient tradition in the crafts of stone carving. The last craftsmen made the artistic paving of the town unique to its genre. In the historical center, people can admire the octagonal castle of the Simone’s feud, Count of Sangro.

History

Main sights

See also

References

See also