The Parish Church of San Nicola di Bari stands at the beginning of Via Caldora since 1141, as proved in ancient historic documents kept in the diocese archive in Chieti and in the “Rationes decimarum Aprutium Molisium” dated 1308. This religious building has been changed several times over the centuries, lastly in 1840 when the right nave was added. Inside, the style of the church is baroque and at the centre of the altar there is a holographic painting of the three miracles of Saint Nicholas. The statue of Madonna della Libera is remarkably decorated and very venerated and also the two altars of the Saint Protector San Lorenzo martire and of the Compianto del Cristo morto are outstanding, too. The bell tower is visible from any corner of the town and dates 1700, while in 1793 a melodious pipe organ was set in the church, an artisanal masterpiece by Giuseppe Diamante Mascia.

On the side of the church, through a door dated 1600 you can access the Palace of the Baron, an ancient residence of the landlords that from 1300 and to 1861 raised taxed and administered justice. From Via Caldora to the last houses below Liscia di Santa Maria there is the oldest and once most populated neighbourhood of Pennadomo, called “Ammond p’ la terre”. Starting form 1965 many inhabitants migrated and since then many houses have been left empty and abandoned to decay over time.

Those ancient houses in Via Caldora, Via della Croce, Via del Colle and Via dei Colombi witness a poor pastoral and rural culture – all surrounded by silence, although desolated, they still have a familiar and charming look. They are pieces of memory and in their cracked walls there still is a soul and slight traces of family gatherings.

At the end of “Ammond p’ la terre” you’ll reach the viewpoint of Santa Maria where the view opens to the Sangro lake below, to Monte Pallano, to the Adriatic seashore. But the most moving show is from the top of Liscia di Santa Maria with its mystic wooden Cross: it is a primordial place for its beauty suspended over infinity.

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