Castelluccio di Norcia and its plateau

Castelluccio is a fraction of the municipality of Norcia (PG) in Umbria, one of the highest inhabited centers in the Apennines. According to ISTAT data, the country is gradually depopulating: in the 2001 census the country was inhabited by 150 residents, while in that of 2011 the residents fell to 120. On October 30, 2016 it was almost completely destroyed by a major seismic event : the bell tower and the Church of Santa Maria Assunta have been completely lost [2], while some works of considerable historical and artistic value kept in the church had been secured before the collapses Territory The town is located on the Umbrian-Marchigiano Apennines, about 28 km from Norcia, at an altitude of 1452 m a.s.l. which make it one of the highest inhabited centers of the Apennines, located on top of a hill that rises on the plateau of the same name (Piani di Castelluccio) among the largest in Central Italy and inserted in the National Park of the Sibillini Mountains, reachable through a panoramic road. In front of it stands the outline of Monte Vettore (Cima del Redentore) (2448 m). Monuments and places of interest Church of Santa Maria Assunta (16th century) [6], with a valuable polychrome wooden sculpture of the Madonna in adoration of the Child (1499), by Giovanni Antonio di Giordano, a butcher sculptor. The church was built in the first half of 1500, the portal, dated 1528, was reassembled after the earthquake of 1703. The interior has a central plan with an octagonal dome. The main altar in carved wood contains the sculpture of the Crucifix with the figures of the Mourners painted on the back panel (16th century). In the two lateral arms there are frescoes with the Mysteries of the Rosary by Camillo and Fabio Angelucci (1582) and Stories of Sant'Antonio Abate (late 14th century). On the respective Renaissance altars, the Madonna in adoration of the Child (already mentioned above) and S. Antonio Abate (polychrome terracotta from the end of the 16th century). The dome of the church was frescoed at the end of the 19th century [7]. The church, due to the earthquake in central Italy in 2016, suffered significant damage already after the earthquake that destroyed Amatrice on 24 August 2016 following which it was made safe [8]. The subsequent earthquake of 30 October 2016 caused its complete collapse [9]. Of interest are the portals of the ancient houses and buildings of Castelluccio [10], the icons that overlook the streets of the hamlet [11] and the tombstones that mark events or personalities that have marked the history of the town [12]. Monti Sibillini National Park (1993), a 72,000 hectare protected area that hosts animals such as wolves, Abruzzo chamois, golden eagles and peregrine falcons; Monte Carrier (2 478 m), one of the highest mountains in the central Apennines, as well as the highest peak in the Marche. A short distance from the top, there is Lake Pilato (1 941 m), of glacial origin. Its waters host a colony of Chirocefalus Marchesoni, a tiny crustacean; the Cima del Redentore (2,448 m), the highest peak in Umbria, and the spectacular ridge of the same name that allows a superb aerial view of the Castelluccio plains; the Grotta della Sibilla (2 150 m), inhabited according to legend by a sorceress capable of predicting the future; the Piani di Castelluccio (1 350 m), approximately 15 km², mainly represented by Pian Grande and Pian Perduto. They are famous for their flowering, which is the imposing flowering phenomenon that colors the plain between the end of May and the beginning of July (especially poppies, cornflowers, daisies). In 2014 it is officially celebrated in the country on Sunday 29 June.