In the summer of 2016, wandering through the hermitages and archaeological sites of Abruzzo, I stumbled upon a Romanesque gem just outside the small medieval village of Rosciolo, at the foot of Monte Velino: the church of Santa Maria in Valle Porclaneta.

This secluded church, surrounded and protected by the Parco Regionale Sirente-Velino, stands out for the elegance of its apse and the precious treasures hidden in its interior: an extremely rare wooden iconostasis, a majestically carved ambo and ciborium and frescoes of the Virgin, the church’s dedicatee. An enchanting, little-known site waiting to be explored in one of the most authentic regions of Italy: Abruzzo.