Ancarano
To be visited
Localita: Ancarano
The toponym Ancarano is clearly of Roman origin and today includes four settle-ments: Pielarocca, Sant'Angelo, Capo del Colle and Piè del Colle, scattered between the pass of the Forca di Ancarano and Campi, along the Campiano Valley.
The place was inhabited since pre-Roman times: at the highest point of the valley, the Forca d'Ancarano, near the locality of Ponte, evidence has been found of a sanctuary existing since the 5th century BC and a rustic settlement dating back to the 1st century BC.
The whole area is very rich in Roman attestations: on either side of Forca d'Anca-rano two inscribed milestones were found, while in Sant'Angelo gladiatorial reliefs belonging to a large funerary complex from the first decades of the 1st century. A.D. were found.
At the center of a large field to the north, a few hundred meters from the road that leads from Ancarano to Campi and then to Preci, an area of dispersion of clay and ceramic material has been identified, with an area of about 1400 square meters. The ancient large fortified complex was presumably built around the year 1000 (above the current town of Pielarocca); within its walls the Benedictine priory of San Pietro and the Romanesque church of Santa Maria de Antiqua or Vetere were hou-sed.
In 1250 Cardinal Pietro Capocci granted possession of Ancarano to the emerging Municipality of Norcia. The city of Norcia, not wanting to leave the Val Campiana - an area of vital importance as junction and communication route - unattended, de-cided to build the Castle of Castelfranco in 1370, forcing the inhabitants of Capo del Colle to move to this new center. In fact, despite the exemptions granted, this trans-fer never took place, due to the inconvenience of the territory which proved too im-pervious.
The recent history of Ancarano is unfortunately marked by seismic events, such as the 2016 series, which caused incalculable damage and the loss of numerous arti-stic assets throughout the valley.
Pielarocca, a settlement located at a higher altitude than the current town of Anca-rano, is divided into two nuclei, separated by a small square where in ancient times there was the church of Santi Apostoli Filippo e Giacomo, damaged by the ear-thquake of 1703 and then overwhelmed by the flood of the 1880.
The small group of houses, declared entirely off-limits following the 2016 earthqua-ke, was predominantly characterized by XVI century buildings with some intere-sting XIV century elements. It is dominated by the majestic ruins of the ancient Be-nedictine monastery of San Pietro.
Sant'Angelo is located just below Pielarocca. Built near the area where the ancient church of Sant'Angelo once stood, now raises the beautiful Church of the White Madonna, badly damaged but still standing after the 2016 earthquake. There was also the parish church of San Benedetto.
Piè del Colle, located further down, has the configuration of a transit villa. There is the Church of San Matteo, badly damaged but remained standing after the 2016 earthquake.
Capo del Colle, probably the oldest of the four current nuclei that make up the lo-cality of Ancarano, is divided into various segments:
Capo La Terra, below the imposing ruins of the ancient Castle of Castelfranco, which still maintains the characteristics of a medieval village;
La Valle, on the edge of which stands the Church of Sant'Antonio Abate, damaged but still standing after the 2016 earthquake;
Capo le Case, further downstream, characterized by the presence of noble residen-ces;
Villa Castelli, remarkable but run down;
Church of the Crucifix, now reduced to a ruin.