CAMPO DI GIOVE: Town - planning history and museum plan.
Campo di Giove is a little village in the mountains, situated in Abruzzo
a mountainous province in the centre of the Italian peninsula, which borders on the north with Marche, on the west with Lazio,
on the south with Molise and on the east with the Adriatic Sea.
Abruzzo is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, including the territory of Campo di Giove,
Chieti, Pescara and Teramo.
Geographically this Region is made up of two very different natural features: sea and mountains.
The mountains part of Abruzzo includes the major mountain peaks of the Appennines: the Gran Sasso d'Italia,
2914 metres high and the Majella 2795 metres high, which are situated in the territory of Campo di
Giove.
Campo di Giove lies at the foot of the Majella mountain, it's very interesting from the point of wiew
of history, tourism, sports and climate. The extensive beech - woods, oak - groves, hazel - trees, maples and
liome - trees purify and scent the air, making the mountain enchanting. The "Sleeping Giant" is visible from
the village, it's the outline of the Majella mountain range that is like a lying - down woman.
Campo di Giove is situated near a Roman road that linked two ancient peoples: the Sabine and the
Samnite. Travellers stopped in Campo di Giove near Giove's pagan altar, where Saint
Eustace's Church rises today.
In the fifteenth century the village was fortified by walls and the towers and the king Giacomo Caldora
built the castle. It was destroyed by Braccio da Montone a famouse army leader who put the village to fire
and sword.
Taking a walk in the strets we can see: portals, mullioned windows, coats - of arms and an ancient house in the
hearth of the village called "Casa Quaranta".
It was built in the fifteenth century, currently it must be restored because the saddle roof is falling down,
while the second and the third floors have collapsed. The house is composed of four stories, the ground floor is
divided in two sections, one of these is a hay - loft, the other is a stable. In the hay - loft there is a cross -
vault, it is composed of wedge - shaped stone blocks called "voussoir", the pointed arches made up of two
segments of a circle, each with a radius equal to the span of the arch and the two vaults intersect at right
angles.
The first floor is composed of a roomy kitchen with a big chimney and of two bedrooms, as, well as the second and
third floor. These two floors are linked by two stone flights of stairs that are supported by two
"rampanti" arches. The "rampante arch" was used in the gothic cathedral upon the aisles. It's
supported on two pillars of two different heights. The imposts of arch aren't at the same level. Typical wrought
iron rings are hanging from timber beams girders which jutt out the wall about one metre. These were used to lift
weights such as sacks of meal. "Casa Quaranta" will be turned into a falk - tradition museum.
Donatella Capaldo
