Altino is a medieval fortified village settled on a mighty rock; on its top the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo and its bell tower dominate fiercely the Sangro Aventino Valley below, with its vegetable gardens, olive and fruit trees, cultivated plots and natural oasis, stretching wide from majestic Maiella massif to the Adriatic Sea. The medieval plan is revealed by the narrow streets and the houses against one another, as to create a fortress protecting from any raids by bandits or Saraceni people who raged throughout Abruzzo at that time.

Because of its structure similar to a castle or fortress Altino was not easily accessible, and maybe that is why, since its foundation in the XI century approximately, the town has often changed its feudal lord, from Norman Boemondo I Count of Manoppello, to the Signoria of Raimondo Annechino in 1515 and later in 1534 to Portocarrero, in 1613 to Furia of Atessa and lastly in 1691 to Luigi Paolucci of Naples who dominated the town until the unification of Italy in 1861, when feudalism was abolished.

Its panoramic and perched old town is the mirror of the different historical era: not only the imposing parish church but also the huge Palazzo Sirolli of XVII century, whose façade bear the signs of buttresses and later broadening with stone walls. The date 1666 is engraved on the facade door and there is also the noble emblem of the Furia family, once the owners of the building.

After the War the river Sangro was cleansed and the population moved from the old town more and more down to the hills in the hamlet of Selva, where many factories are located nowadays. The old town is now scarcely populated, yet its narrow streets, little squares and ancient houses still tell the story of an ancient peasant civilization which came from Sanniti people.

[Credits | Text: Ottavio Di Renzo De Laurentis | Translation: Mirella Rapa | Voice and music: Studio Qreate | Photo: Laura Di Biase]