Elice: The Medieval Hilltop Borgo That Comes Alive Every Summer
Elice is a small municipality in the Abruzzo region of Italy, in the province of Pescara, perched on a hilltop on the northern flank of the Fino river valley, between the towns of Atri and Penne. Its name derives from the Latin ilex, meaning holm oak, the evergreen tree that is the village's emblem. From its natural vantage point, the borgo commands sweeping panoramas over the Abruzzese hills, with the Adriatic visible on clear days and the snow-capped Gran Sasso in the background during winter.
History The earliest documentary references to Elice date to 1051, when the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria di Picciano received, as a gift from Bernardo di Penne, a cell known as San Martino "nel castello dell'Ilice soggetto." On 10 July 1084, Count Guglielmo Tassone donated the castle of Elice, together with its lands, buildings, and appurtenances, to the Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere. By 1168, the castle already had 264 inhabitants; the possession was confirmed by the Pope on 16 June 1176 and by Emperor Henry VI on 1 March 1195.
Throughout the Middle Ages the fief changed hands several times. In 1279 Govitosa di Raiano was its feudal lady; in 1284 the lords of the castle granted the community of Elice the right to hold a market every Monday. In March 1292, French troops led by Matteo di Plexiac, alongside militia from Atri, attacked Elice and Cellino. The Castiglione family held the fief from the 14th century until 1806, when the abolition of feudalism ended the manorial system. In the 19th century, Elice was home to a celebrated tannery founded in 1819 by Tommasantonio Impacciatore, whose trade extended as far as Dalmatia. Later, Mayor Pietro Baroni installed a thriving terracotta and ceramics factory in the castle's rooms.
Castello Castiglioni The centrepiece of the borgo is the Castello Castiglioni, built in the Middle Ages and remodelled in the 18th century. Its structure is predominantly brick, with a wide Baroque-style portal. Local tradition holds that the castle has 99 rooms — a symbolically significant number in Abruzzo. The entrance portal leads into a vaulted entrance hall flanked by former stables, wine cellars, and guards' quarters; on the upper floor there is a large hall and a chapel connected by a lowered-arch corridor to the adjacent church of Santa Maria e San Martino, forming a unique architectural block in Abruzzo. The foundations reach over a metre and a half in thickness. Damaged in the 2009 earthquake, the castle was subsequently restored.
The Sagra della Mugnaia and La Notte nell'Ilex Every August, Elice hosts two events that have made it a cultural landmark in the region. The Sagra della Mugnaia celebrates the valley's traditional pasta: a single long cord of dough made from durum wheat, soft wheat, and eggs, hand-stretched and served with a ragù of veal, pork, peppers, carrots, and aubergine. La Notte nell'Ilex, organised by the cultural association Elicethnos, is one of the most spectacular medieval historical re-enactments in Italy: over 400 costumed performers, made up by professional film-industry make-up artists, transform the borgo into an 11th-century medieval village, complete with a market, tavern, archery tournaments, duels, and open-air theatre.
Points of interest: - Population: 1,630 inhabitants (recent municipal data). - Distances: 7 km from Penne; 20 km from Pescara; 7 km from Castilenti (Teramo) and 7 km from Atri. - How to get there: Accessible from Pescara via Città Sant'Angelo, Collecorvino and Picciano; from Teramo via Castilenti and Atri. - Annual events: Sagra della Mugnaia and Notte nell'Ilex, every August.