PETTORANO SULGIZIO


Pettorano sul Gizio (about 656 metres), is a town situated in the inland of Abruzzi and geographically belonging to the mountain valley of Sulmona. It rises at the end of a long, narrow valley which has always been the original way of connection between Peligna valleya (400 metres) and the table land of Cinquemiglia (1280 metres).
Its territory is very broad and morphologically varied: the flat landscape of the wide alluvial plain Peligna valley leaves way to the typically mountain area of the Reserve of Monte Genzana.
This heterogeneity, combined with history rich of events and remarkable, well-preserved architectural heritage make pettorano one of the most interesting towns of the inland of Abruzzi. The origins of the current town date back to the Middle Ages but man dwelt in the surrounding area and the rises near the village ever since the Palaelithic.
The village lies in the territory of the natural, regional reserve of Monte Genzana-Alto Gizio. Its territory is rich in archaeological sites and finds, particularly on the ridge and on the top of Monte Genzana and on the south-east side of the reserve.