Civitella del Tronto stands on a single block of travertine at over six hundred meters above sea level. For centuries it was a royal and frontier town: a state stronghold between the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal States, the "key to the Kingdom." Here, by will of the crown, noble families and garrisons defending the border once lived, and from this position the town became a crossroads of European trade, where objects, fabrics, and goods arrived from every corner of the Old Continent.
These are the three routes that tell its story. The Fortress, among the largest military complexes in Europe and the most extensive in Italy, with five centuries of defensive engineering behind it. The Village, among the best preserved on the continent, climbing gate by gate up to the hill. The NINA Museum, where the collection of the noble families — clothing, textiles, documents, and everyday objects — reveals the cosmopolitan face of the town.
Available itineraries
NINA Museum
Housed in the spaces of the town's old Vapo-Forno, the museum tells the story of Civitella through the collection of the local noble families: haute couture garments, precious fabrics, jewelry, documents, military uniforms and a nineteenth-century bedroom with original furnishings. Four rooms that testify to the cosmopolitan character of a crossroads city. The name is a tribute to Gaetana Graziani in Scesi, "Nina", who devoted her life to saving these objects, dreaming of turning them into an exhibition.
NINA Museum - For children
Nina's museum told to children: clothes, toys, prams, fabrics and everyday objects that show how people lived in Civitella in the past. A journey through four rooms, with simple words and lots of curiosities, to discover the history of the town and of the noblewoman who saved these treasures.
The Village
A walk through one of the best-preserved fortified villages in Europe, resting on a single travertine rock at over six hundred metres above sea level. From Porta Napoli to the Fortress crowning the hill, among gates, squares, churches and palaces that tell the story of Civitella, "key of the Kingdom", a royal frontier city inhabited by noble families and garrisons. The route ends at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria dei Lumi.
The Village - For Children
One of the best-preserved medieval villages in Europe, built entirely on a single giant block of travertine at over six hundred meters of height: the houses, walls and streets are made of the same stone you're walking on. For centuries Civitella was a border town, between the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal States: whoever controlled it held the passage between the two states in their hands, and this is why it was called the "key to the Kingdom". From Porta Napoli to the Fortress at the top of the hill, gates, squares, churches and palaces await you, and each one has its own story to tell you.
The Fortress
Among the largest military complexes in Europe and the most extensive in Italy: over five hundred meters in length and twenty-five thousand square meters. The itinerary crosses the sixteenth-century project commissioned by Philip II of Spain — bastions named after the Apostles, parade grounds, cisterns, walkways, and underground depots — on a hill fortified since the year One Thousand. From the drawbridge to the Museum of Weapons and Ancient Maps, up to the panoramic walkway of the Carmine Battery.
Fortress - For children
The largest fortress in Italy awaits you. You enter through the drawbridge, which was raised by pulling large chains, then you discover pointed bastions, prisons, enormous squares where soldiers used to gather, and warehouses hidden underground. An itinerary with simple words and lots of curiosities, to explore a thousand years of history together with the whole family.
