In ancient times it was Collis Altus, from the name of the hill on which it stood, and it is easy to imagine why. The first news of Collalto dates back to year 900, when due to the incessant raids of the Saracens the people of the Turano Valley fled to the mountains, founding new villages.
Ph. Roberta Venditti
Divided for a long time between the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal State, on February 3, 1881, the inhabitants of Collalto decided to join the newborn Kingdom of Italy. They paid a very high price in terms of human lives, in what was considered as a very bloody page in the history of banditry.
When you walk through the stone-paved streets of Collalto, between the flowered balconies and the elderly on the benches following with their gaze the faces of the people passing by, you may get the impression of feeling the troubled history of this village in the province of Rieti, one of the most beautiful in Italy.
Ph. Roberta Venditti
Ph. Roberta Venditti
It is an uphill walk to reach the castle, which from its one thousand meters high rises over the surrounding landscape and overlooks the beeches and the oaks of the Mountains Navegna and Cervia Nature Reserve. Silence is almost unreal. Yet even the baronial castle of Collis Altus has its mysteries and legends.
Ph. Roberta Venditti
In fact, it is said that in medieval times a girl named Bianca was entombed alive by the lady of the castle, who belonged to one of the most important families in the area, due to a devastating jealousy. And since Bianca was very attached to that house, she never left it, appearing as a ghost every time the lady's family experienced a moment of joy or sadness...