Capracotta

Capracotta is one of the highest villages in the Apennines, at an altitude of 1421 m, making it a favourite haunt of cross-country skiiers. It also has a historic Ski Club, founded in 1914. On the plateau of Prato Gentile, the piste named after Mario Di Nucci (1918-75), the greatest local cross-country champion, has three slopes: the competitive valley descent, full of challenging ups and downs; the competitive slope further up the mountain, which is sometimes snow-covered until April-May, and finally, the tourism slope. The village lies between the Sangro valley and the upper valley of the Verrino, a tributary of the river Trigno, immersed in a landscape of rare beauty that receives plenty of snow. The Church of St Mary of the Assumption, with its majestic sandstone mass and Baroque façade, overlooks a solemn panorama across the Sangro valley. This small mountain town has a tradition of garment making, and it has exported many highly-skilled tailors and seamstresses who were held in great demand. In the 19th century, a young person arriving in Rome or Paris after serving an apprenticeship in Capracotta could take their pick of jobs at the houses of haute couture. One of the heirs of this tradition today is Sebastiano Di Rienzo, president of the National Academy of Garment Makers. To celebrate the skills of Capracotta and its tailors, the association set up S.E.B.A., a museum of the sartorial arts, which was inaugurated in 2015 in a building on Via Risorgimento in the old part of the town.