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NEARBY TOWNS
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Cugnoli
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Pietranico
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Turrivalignani
Archaelogical finds in the town indicate settlements there as far back as the Bronze age and also during the Roman period. The records of the Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria show that the present-day town began in the medieval era, in the 10th century, when it was known as 'Castrum Petrae.' It was first settled by people who were fleeing from barbarian invaders and who took refuge on this rocky hilltop.
The town was renamed for San Valentino after the discovery there of the remains of the Bishop of Terracina, Valentine, who became the town's patron saint. The body of San Damiano was discovered at the same time. Tradition says that Valentine and Damiano miraculously escaped the anti-Christian persecutions of emperor Giuliano, devoted themselves to preaching the faith, were ultimately captured and beheaded, buried by the faithful and that their bodies were discovered and recognized long afterwards, during the Norman era. The words 'in Abruzzo Citeriore' are part of the town's name because at one time the Abruzzo region was divided into two parts - Ulteriore (the farthest or northern part) and Citeriore ('on this side' - the southern part).
The castle at San Valentino was built in 1064, and the town grew up around it. The remains of the castle can still be seen today (photo, bottom row, left). The castle was the residence of a series of noble families which possessed San Valentino and the surrounding area as a feudal fief. The first possessor, documented in 1140, was Riccardo Trogisio, followed by the Acquaviva family, the Orsini family (Counts of Manoppello), the Fieschi of Genoa, the De Tolfa family and Margaret of Austria, wife of Ottavio Farnese.
The most striking building in San Valentino is the church of Saints Valentino and Damiano, with its twin belltowers which can be seen from afar (photo, bottom row, center). The church, which was built from stone from the Maiella in the second half of the 18th century, was designed by the noted architect Luigi Vanvitelli, who designed the palace at Caserta near Naples. After the facade was damaged by the earthquake of 1915, it was reconstructed by local sculptors and stonecutters. In the interior of the church are elegant stucco decorations done by the artist Alessandro Terzani in the last decade of the 18th century. In front of the church, between the two flights of steps which lead to its door, is the lovely Fountain of Sansone.
To the left of the church are the remains of the surrounding wall of the castle and the tower built in the year 1000. Inside the castle can be seen an inscription from 1507 concerning one of the owners, Penatibus De Tolfa. The belvedere provides beautiful views of the Gran Sasso and the Pescara Valley. Also adjacent to the church is the Palazzo Farnese, built by the count of San Valentino in the 1500s, though it has since been extensively rebuilt.
Starting from the Piazza San Nicola, a walk through the narrow winding streets yields pleasant surprises. Along Corso Umberto I the buildings have wonderful doorways done in Maiella stone by the master stonecarvers of San Valentino. Near piazza Cesarone, on the right, can be found the church of San Donato, recently restored, which contains an organ of the Venetian school. Nearby is the church of Sant'Antonio, in which there are many works of art, including a 17th century organ of the Neapolitan school.
Within a half-mile of the town center is a peaceful, tranquil green area known as 'il boschetto.' Nearby is the 15th century church of the Madonna della Croce, one of the many churches in Abruzzo at which for centuries shepherds and their flocks would spend the night as they worked their way south to Puglia in the fall and back to Abruzzo again in the spring. Also of interest just outside the town are two caves, the Grotta Cellarelli and the Grotta Riparo, where prehistoric remains have been found, and the ancient and now deconsecrated church of San Rocco (photo, bottom row, right).
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