The Grotta dei Piccioni

The slopes of the Majella are studded with grottoes but there is one in particular, the Grotta dei Piccioni near Bolognano, which is able to transport the visitor into a dimension where human life Seems to be completely at one with Time. In the Grotta dei Piccioni the first traces of Man date back to about 6500 years ago. The uniqueness and fascination of this grotto lie Particularly in the testimonies that have been preserved in it. It was not, in fact, a "habitat" as such of the ancient neolithic populations, people organized into tribes who lived in hut villages Nor was the grotto a temporary refuge for hunters or for those already involved in agriculture a place to keep their crops nor even a place for those who worked in ceramics, it was instead, a sanctuary.
In fact, inside the grotto, in a shallow ditch, it is still possible to see a little heap of small bones; according to archeologists they are the remains of a child of about 10 years old sacrificed about 6500 years ago during sacred rites in honour of the goddess Earth. A further testimony to the sacred nature and to continuity in worship in the region is the Grotta di S. Angelo, not far from Palombaro, still on the Majella.

The worship of Bona and Ercole Curino

The cave is thought to have been a sanctuary dedicated to the worship of Bona, goddess of fertility. According to the legend, women who bathed their breasts in the water that flowed inside the grotto would have an abundant supply of milk. With the arrival of Christianity, that particular cult was taken over by the devotion to Sant'Agata, still in the hope of an abundant supply of milk. The sacred nature of the place is further witnessed to by the surprising remains of an extremely ancient church built between the 11th and l2th century in the innermost part of the grotto where a rocky ledge juts out thus elevating a kind of irregular-shaped platform. For more than a thousand years, both during the Italic and Roman era in Abruzzo, Ercole (Hercules), was one of the most venerated gods.
The Abruzzo peoples worshipped him in a way that was almost reminiscent of that of the ancient shepherd warriors or metal-prospectors from the Orient, whose impact with the native neolithic populations provoked a sort of cultural revolution. The most important and famous temple, both in ancient times and today, is definitely the one near Sulmona dedicated to the worship of Ercole Curino, a god of whom the pre Christian shepherds were particularly fond. During the great revolt of the Italic populations against Rome, the temple became the most important religious centre for the rebels who, joined together, formed the Italic League.

The worship of S. Michele Arcangelo

As Christianity spread, Ercole, the favourite divinity among the shepherds of central and southern Italy, was replaced by the Arcangelo Michele. In popular belief he was portrayed as a young holy warrior who killed the dragon and was therefore a defeater of evil forces. Basically, he too was a cultural hero, just as Ercole had been in pre-Christian times. The very dose iconographical analogy which links the two divinities shows how popular religious belief was almost completely preserved simply by transferring it into the new Christian ritual framework and bestowing the Arcangelo Michele with the attributes of the previous deity. Spreading up from the grotto-sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo on the Gargano which had been in existence since the 5th century, the worship of the Arcangelo Michele probably arrived in Abruzzo via the transhumant shepherds and, like the original religious centre frequently visited by the shepherds, selected places of worship subsequently became grottoes.
There are scores of grottoes spread along the Apenine ridge in Abruzzo dedicated to the worship of S. Michele Arcangelo, or S. Angelo. The widespread diffusion that the worship of the Arcangelo achieved in the region was, without doubt, sustained by the continuity that the said cult established with previous rites in pagan grottoes. In fact, it was by no coincidence that the cult took over in many grottoes which popular tradition had already established as "sacred" because of their connection with other cults. Testimonies of fertility rites, adoration of rocks and water as in the case of the very important and equally fascinating Grotta S. Angelo of Ripe di Civitella del Tronto - also traces of human sacrifices and ritual cannibalism are proof of thousands of years of uninterrupted religious ceremonies and rituals in surroundings such as these. All in a picture is one of grandiose, mysterious and fascinating continuity in worship.

The Hermitages

To the timeless sacred nature of the rocks, water and grottoes, one associates the most typical example of Abruzzo religious culture since early medieval times: hermitage life.
Completely cut off from the world and in search of an alternative austere way of life, the hermits lived in grottoes and shelters under rocks; following this, proper entrances to their places of worship were created either because of the expansion of the hermitical community or due to the devotion of the faithful. A building was finally arrived at a chapel leaning against and almost penetrating the rock.
The hermitage thus provides an ideal stage towards the transition from the primitive grottoes as a place of worship to the church set on its own foundations. Among the most important hermitages: the hermitage of S. Onofrio al Morrone known also as the Eremo di Celestino V, which, mounted like an eagle's nest on an enormous rock face, dominates the Valle Peligna and the temple of Ercole Curino beneath; the Grotta-Eremo di S. Michele in Pescocostanzo, situated near the tratturo (sheep track); the Eremo di S. Onofrio in Serramonacesca, to be found under a huge cliff at the heart of the wood, with narrow tunnels running into the rock-face; the Eremo di S. Bartolomeo di Legio completely camouflaged in the rock-face of the valley of the same name dose to Roccamorice.