Guardiagrele was named la terrazza d’Abruzzo (the terrace of Abruzzo) by poet Gabrielle d’Annunzio. It sits in the foothills of the Maiella mountain in the Provence of Chieti in Abruzzo, in central Italy. We stayed in the town for a couple of days to visit a friend of my son.
The stunning Santa Maria Maggiore is the biggest church in Guardiagrele. The facade is 14th century gothic.
The Coronation of the Virgin sculpture in the portal lunette is attributed to the school of Nicola di Guardiagrele.
Under the colonnaded portico, next to the side door, is the fresco by Andrea De Litio (1473) portraying Saint Christopher.
I liked the little chap in the alcove off to one side.
The bell arrangement on top of the church are quite unusual.
We were in town the weekend of the La Rocca festival. It was great to see the town filled with people enjoying the fun.
We woke up Sunday morning to see the piazza below us filled with a market.
The views from the terrace with the market are lovely.
Delightful Alessio and his lovely partner organised lunch at their favourite restaurant. The food was delicious.
After lunch they took us a little higher to a plateau near Pennepiedmonte with stunning views.
There is a tiny shepherd’s shelter on the side of the mountain.
There was a memorial nearby to Andrea Bafile (1878-1918) a Lieutenant during WWII. He was awarded a post-mortem Gold Medal for Military Valor.
Now for the cake. Sise delle Monache (nun’s breasts) is a speciality from Guardiagrele. It is a 2 layer sponge cake that is filled with custard. It is often served together with a brush to dust the icing sugar sprinkled on top of the cake off your clothes.
It is said to refer to the 3 nearby mountains, Gran Sassi d’Italia, Maiella and Sirente-Velino. It was mischievously transformed to “nun’s tits” by a person who noticed some especially whitened cakes and decided they resembled nun’s breasts. There are a couple of other explanations, but the cakes have become a treasured speciality of the town.
There is said to be a statue of the cake, but we could not find it after considerable searching. We had to make do with the small one outside the shop where you can buy them.
Here is the real thing. Alessio made sure we got to sample this delectable sweet treat.
A brushing off was required after eating.
Thank you to our lovely friends for a wonderful visit to your town.