What to see in Tagliacozzo, an itinerary including the historic center with its fifteenth-century walls and the Ducal Palace, as well as various churches and convents, including the ancient Benedictine monastery of Saints Cosima and Damiano.
Tourist information
Located on the northern slopes of the Simbruini mountains, Tagliacozzo is part of the Marsica mountain community.
The fifteenth-century walls that surround the historic center, in ancient times had five gates, among the works placed to defend the city there was also a castle, of which today only a few remains remain.
At the center of Piazza Obelisco, which is considered one of the most beautiful in Abruzzo, there was a small pile of stone on which the debtors were seated to shame them in public.
Various noble palaces in good condition surround the square, with the exception of some that are in a state of neglect.
The 14th century Ducal Palace deserves to be visited, with its decorated windows and various paintings, among which the frescoes of the Chapel stand out.
There is also a fountain from the 1200s, renovated several times and which has become a national monument.
The Church, with the adjoining Convent of San Francesco, has a beautiful facade where the ancient portal and the Gothic rose window which bears Orsinian friezes stand out for their beauty.
In the immediate surroundings of Tagliacozzo there is the Sanctuary of Maria Santissima dell'Oriente, dating back to the thirteenth century, but renovated several times in subsequent periods.
Various valuable decorations are kept inside this pilgrimage site, in particular those of the apse, the nave and the dome.
What see
The monastery of Saints Cosma and Damiano, whose origins date back to the eighth century, is the oldest and most important place of worship in Tagliacozzo, it is an architectural complex built in Romanesque style.
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Once the monastery, which belonged to the religious congregation of the Benedictines of Montecassino, was long disputed between the papacy and the Bishop of Marsi.
Blessed Oddo da Novara, who was born in 1100, was hosted here in the last period of his life.
Oddo, after having been consecrated to the religious profession in the nearby Charterhouse of Casotto, was sent to Seitz in Yugoslavia, where he wrote some sermons.
Later he was prior to the new foundation of the order in Gyrio, then around 1190, due to differences between the monks, he went to Rome to ask for justice from Pope Clement III.
The last eight years of life were spent by Oddo in a very small cell of the monastery of Tagliacozzo, where he died and was buried.
Since then the monastery was a destination for pilgrimages.
As for the local gastronomy, an example of a typical dish are gnocchi with chickpeas.
