Tower and Palace of the de Felice

Torre e Palazzo de Felice is a fortified baroque palace built into a medieval castle in Rosciano, Pescara, Abruzzo.

It is a former residence of the de Felice family and was constructed on the north bank of the River Pescara. The tower is located in Rosciano, a village perched atop a hill with views of the Pescara valley. Since more than 2000 BC, this vital location has been fortified; the earliest remnants are of a Roman fortification, the foundations of which form the base of the Tower. Locals in the area call the tower “Torre dei Paladini,” or “Tower of the Paladins,” a reference to the elite warriors who served at Charlemagne’s court at the end of the eighth century.

During their conquest of South Italy in the eleventh century, the Normans constructed the current fortress. In order to deter assailants from ascending it, the main tower has a very high base coated in river pebbles and three storeys with windows higher up. The rectangular Palazzo de Felice, built in the 15th century, was the largest addition to the castle’s structure since that time. Subsequent generations continued to add to it.

The town of Rosciano currently owns the tower and the structure. As evidenced by the Byzantine church Villa Badessa, Rosciano has a sizable Albanian population that has lived there since the eighteenth century. There are plans to establish an interior museum in the Arbresh tradition.

The location, which was once a stronghold constructed by the Normans in the eleventh century, is now home to a palace constructed by the De Felice family in the fifteenth century. In 1600, this baroque structure was finished. On the southern front of the castle, a spacious mezzanine level leads to a number of chambers from a wide flight of steps flanked by pilasters. It was frequently utilized as a troop shelter, despite having a magnificent interior.

The present day castle was built in the 11th century by the Normans during their conquest of South Italy. The main tower has three floors with windows higher up and a very high base covered with river pebbles, to prevent attackers scaling it. Since then, successive generations have contributed to the structure of the castle, the largest addition being the rectangular Palazzo De Felice in the 15th century.

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