A weekend in Santo Stefano di Sessanio
Imagine a weekend stay in one of the most beautiful and spectacular villages of Abruzzo. Imagine sitting in front of a stone fireplace in one of those granny chairs that have been restored, that have hundreds of years.. Imagine living such experience and having the possibility to own one of those properties yourself!
Wether you are looking to buy a similar property or just want to get away from it all and enjoy a nice weekend vacation, Sextantio Diffused Hotels would be happy to greet you and have you enjoy your stay in their Borgo!
For information and prices, please contact paola@ancientproperties.com
ABOUT SANTO STEFANO DI SESSANIO history - project - things to do
Santo Stefano di Sessanio is a fortified medieval burgh rising on a pre-existent Italic-Roman site. It located at an altitude of 1250 metres deep in the heart of the Apennine mountains near L'Aquila inside the Gran Sasso & Monti della Laga National Park, in Abruzzo. The burgh's current urban structure was established in the Middle Ages during the then nascent castle-building phenomenon and features a landscape dotted by fortified highland habitats, still very much one of the historical and topographical elements characterising Central Italy today. During this era Santo Stefano belonged to the political and territorial dominion of the Carapelle Barony, as well as two illustrious Tuscan families: the Piccolomini and, later, the Medici. The bond with Florence and the rest of Europe was due the mercantile importance of its wool production, a raw material produced locally from the Middle Ages to more recent times. Despite the isolation, often in areas of subsistence-level agriculture, the prosperity from wool production explains why such remarkable burghs flourished at the time, the variety of the architecture and quality of the buildings there to provide ample testimony to the town’s history. New markets, new raw materials, finally the agricultural policies of a new unified Italy marked the loss of the grazing industry and sealed the fate of these burghs; local people were forced into a life of hardship and poverty that would, ultimately, end with emigration and the territory’s near-desertion. What remains discernable of this civilization are a few rare burghs that have survived and maintained their historical and architectural heritage, a patrimony that merges without interruption and, fortunately, without the recent all-too-pervasive urban “developments”, thereby offering a still-pristine environment that is uniquely in harmony with its natural surroundings. As one of the most authentic burghs in the complex socio-historical evolution of habitats in the south-central Apennines at the time of fortifications, Santo Stefano di Sessanio’s present layout opens with a medieval urban plan that, with the addition of late-medieval and pre-Renaissance architectural stratifications, is articulated in a complex manner: courtyards, patios, alleys, covered porticoes, arches, loggias, portals, stone fireplaces in the palazzi, all arising in a spontaneous ad hoc fashion, an unplanned urban development with layers of histories stratified one atop the other. The surrounding landscape is characterized by centuries-old features, “archaeology of the landscape, or territory” with clear inscriptions marking the burgh's surroundings (open pastures, terraced fields, dry stone walls, etc.). The exceptional integrity and melding between the anthropic and the environment represent a unique and the most distinctive feature of this land.
The project’s basic philosophy is a consequence of the specific features of the territory's burghs and the folk culture this land has preserved. In the past five years, the Sextantio Company has purchased real estate for 3,500 m2 circa, inside the historical centre of Santo Stefano di Sessanio. This includes a few of the burgh’s most distinguished buildings within the city’s perimeters, plus 1,000 m2 inside neighbouring burghs belonging to the historical-territorial tradition of the ancient Barony of Carapelle. First, the project anticipates, without compromise, focussing on the integral restoration and maintenance of the historical and architectural heritage of Santo Stefano di Sessanio, rightly considered one of the most evocative and interesting medieval burghs of the whole Abruzzese Apennines. Also dedicated to the many demands of conservation are a series of studies involving the most qualified regional institutions (Museum of the Peoples of Abruzzo, National Park of Gran Sasso - Monti della Laga, etc.) and some of the region’s best qualified “intelligentsia”, a private commissioning quite unheard of, all aiming at protecting a microcosmic sample of an Italy that is increasingly rare and, left to itself, perpetually in danger of extinction. The main idea is to nurture a series of studies regarding the territory that have, firstly, its own worth as research, a cultural value per se, the scope being to re-propose a “scientific” rendition of the local cultures that will foster a real economy and become a feasible development model for the entire range of semi-abandoned historical burghs in the mountains of Abruzzo.
For the conservation of its architectural and historical patrimony, Sextantio has commissioned the offices of Studio Associato di Zio - di Clemente to define the burgh’s stylistic and architectural features to guarantee a correct re-introduction of material, esp. where missing. “Re-placements” are introduced using authentic antique elements that have been recovered from outlying areas, antiques that share the same stylistic and historical features of those being replaced. In planning new spaces and new uses, the historical and architectural features of each single environment was taken into account and wholly respected. Learning about the original use of every single space before the burgh’s abandonment, which was identified through meticulous in situ investigations, through archive studies and by delving into the historical recollections of the local elders, was the preliminary basis prior to any and all hypothesis of re-conversion that, where possible, were to preserve and safeguard the original. The worksite was subject to the supervision of an archaeologist specialised in medieval archaeology.
To highlight and increase the burgh’s intrinsic value, artistic and cultural exhibitions are organized. The idea is to propose events clearly related to the territory and its culture, or events of indisputable cultural and artistic substance; a prerogative, to avoid the folklore mannerisms all-too-commonplace in all-too-many historical villages. For classical and contemporary music, our Resident Ensemble, the Officina Musicale, or Musical workshop, directed by maestro Orazio Tuccella, offers the burgh, its host, a chance to enjoy its rehearsals and concerts. Entrance fees, all and only donations, are devolved to foundations dedicated to protecting the environment or its architectural and historical heritage. (Lega Ambiente, Italia Nostra, etc.) Regarding the world of contemporary art, the Cannaviello Art Gallery shall be directing and proposing the works of contemporary world-class artists in the houses of the burgh, with an oeuvre left behind as testimony to their passage in time and space.
