Speloncato

The village’s layout is strikingly regular. From its higher points, such as the A Cima site, the view stretches unobstructed across the entire valley as far as the coast. At the heart of this labyrinth of stone, the Church of Santa Maria Assunta and the Confraternity of Sant’Antone Abbate embody a rich religious heritage.

The Confraternity of Sant’Antone Abbate, under the invocation of the Holy Cross, carefully preserves a precious intangible heritage by keeping the hymns and services of yesteryear alive. Thanks to the memories of the elders, numerous Mass chants and entire services have thus been saved from oblivion: such as the Tenebrae service – of which only a recording of the ‘Benedictu’ existed – which has been successfully reconstructed. The building also houses several treasures listed as Historic Monuments, such as the statue of Saint Anthony acquired in the 18th century.

Below the village, a path leads to the ruins of Giustiniani, a pastoral hamlet now fallen silent. Dry-stone walls, abandoned terraces, an ‘aghje’ (threshing floor), a mill and the ruins of the chapels of Saint Philip and Saint Anthony bear witness to a once highly organised rural settlement before the inhabitants moved up to the present-day village of Speluncatu. A short walk away, the remains of Roman baths and thermal springs have been unearthed.

The accessible route follows these historic paths between the summit and the plain. More than just a field of stones marked by time, Giustiniani stands as a moving testament to the ingenuity displayed in cultivating and inhabiting this land.