14. Corvaro – Castiglione

From the medieval village of Corvaro to Castiglione for the Valle di Malito
The first part of the route through the medieval village of Corvaro will allow you to closely visit one of the five gates that allowed access to the village, Porta Calata, the remains of the city walls and the visible ones of the watchtowers. Before leaving the village you will pass near the majestic remains of the Rocca, with the house of the lord, the lodgings for the troops and the deposits for the ammunition. Once out of the village, the trail continues first through the former cultivations, the mixed oak grove, the cerretes until it reaches the monumental chestnut trees of the Cross. From here we continue on the dirt track, which serves the numerous agro-silvo-pastoral activities allowing ample views to the Simbruini Mountains to the south, the Malito Valley with the Apa torrent to the west, Monte Cava to the east and Monte Nuria to northwest.
Water point and crossing point Fonte Cottorino already over half way. The stage reaches Castiglione di Tornimparte (AQ) whose name derives from the presence in the Middle Ages of a castle, that of Sant'Angelo di Castiglione, witnessed by the presence of some remains on a mountain that dominates the valley; the complex was destroyed in 1200 by popular uprisings and was rebuilt, like other castles, for its strategic position on the border between the Papal State and the Kingdom of Naples, at the behest of Giovanna I of Naples.

From here we start
The stage begins at Fonte Vecchia, the fifteenth century part of Corvaro, at the foot of the rocky buttresses of the Medieval Fortress. The path laps the church and the square of San Francesco and goes up to the oldest part of the country where bypassing the walls and towers of the medieval village, you reach the Fonte di Capulaterra from which you can admire the Rocca di Corvaro. From here the path, used for centuries by local people to carry out their activities related to agriculture, pastoralism, the care of the woods and chestnut groves, through former cultivations reaches the cart road that through the upper part of the Valle di Malito leads tore unite near Castiglione di Tornimparte (AQ) at the Amiternina provincial road.

From here we start
From Fonte Vecchia, we proceed towards Piazza Regina Margherita, where the guest quarters and the Duchess Museum are being set up. After the cobblestones, you are in front of the church and the square of San Francesco, and turn left along the perimeter of the medieval village. Proceeding, you will enter the fifteenth century part of the country to arrive immediately after in front of Porta Calata, the only door of the five accesses remained standing. After the medieval fortress, the path begins that gradually through fresh woods will reach the cultivations and chestnut trees, where are visible capture systems and sources (Source Prata 1150m and Fonte dei Copelli 1200m). In these fountains the presence of the crested newt (Triturus
carniflex) and dotted Triton (Triturus vulgaris) is certain. After passing the Fonte dei Copelli and the homonymous shelter to less than half the route, the walker will no longer have water points at his disposal to refuel. From here the wood, now pure beech, clears the ascent to leave room for high altitude pastures. Once past Coppo di Cava and the pass of Femmina Morta, beyond the two lakes you continue to climb slightly (up to the altitude of 1830m) and then start the long descent towards Castiglione through the prairies and the beautiful beech woods.

A look on the Apennines
Once you leave the forest, you can look up to the Simbruini Mountains to the south, to the Terminillo to the North-West and with the constant presence of the underlying Malito Valley, rich in woods, water and cultivated fields. After the crossing of the "Vao di donna Morta", the Gran Sasso d'Italia will also look majestic.

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