Bominaco, the church and castle

The abbey of Santa Maria Assunta and the oratory of San Pellegrino were part of an ancient Benedictine monastic building, and tradition says that it was founded in 1001 by Odorisio, son of Bernardo di Valva. The two buildings today are located semi-hidden on a small wooded hill at the entrance of a cattle house and can be visited on request.
There are few traces of the rest of the monastic complex.
The church of Santa Maria Assunta has three naves with rounded arches, which rest on columns with richly sculpted capitals; to note are the triple apse, characteristic of that time, and the pulpit of notable artistic value.
The oratory of San Pellegrino was reserved for the liturgy of the Benedictine Monastery. This building could be older than the rest of the complex: legend, in part supported by a document from the end of the 8th century, tells of how Carlo Magno, who in that period stayed in Abruzzo, had a dream with a vision asking him to build the church in honor of San Pellegrino.
The condottiere decided to donate the land to the Farfa Abbey to fulfill the wishes expressed in the dream.
The little church appears extremely plain and simple from the outside, while inside you will find a cycle of the most spectacular frescoes in Abruzzo: all of the walls and vault of the church, more than 470 sq. meters, were totally frescoed with sacred historic episodes: the childhood of Christ, the passion, the final judgment, the life of San Pellegrino.
The castle, whose ruins still dominate the monastic area, was surely built later: it was probably constructed in the 13th century to defend the Monastery of Momenaco and the inhabitants of the village.
Today, a large part of the castle has been destroyed, but the splendid 15th-century cylindrical tower constructed by Fioravanti, counts of Forfona, remain.