Village of Anversa (AQ)

Province: L'Aquila - Elevation: 570 Population: 439

The village belongs to the association of "I borghi più belli d'Italia" and it is located in the middle of Marsica, on the northern side of the Sagittarius Canyon, starting point of the WWF Nature Reserve. In the main Roma square, it is located the Renaissance church of Madonna delle Grazie dating back the 16th century, with the marvellous stone portal of 1540. The church of St. Marcello, erected during the 11st century and dedicated to the patron saint, is valuable for its gothic portal with a lunette decorated with a fresco representing the Virgin and the Child and St. Marcello and St. Vincenzo, dating back 1472.

The remains of the fifteen-century castle, built by Antonio di Sangro overlook the town, the building is famous as Gabriele D'annunzio has set one of his masterpiece "The light under a bushel" (La fiaccola sotto il moggio), described by the poet as "the perfect one among my tragedies".

The village is famous for the production of the smoked ricotta cheese of Anversa, produced with local traditional methods. It is one of the excellence of Abruzzo culinary specialties, indeed it won the gold medal during the Mountain Cheese Olimpics in 2002.
Nearby the town, the Botanical Garden is worth a visit with 380 plant species, differentiated in many sectors in order to foster the local flora.

In the district of Coccitelle, between the town of Anversa and Cocullo, has discovered a necropolis with 50 slab graves, in full gear.

Nearby, the district of Castrovalva clings to the top of a steep hill of St. Angelo mountain and in 1930 it was depicted by the Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher in his lithography "Castrovalva", now it is on display in the museum of Art in Washington DC. The little village dedicated to him the "girone" the last bend of a road at the entrance of the town.