Laturo

Laturo (Lu Lature in the Teramo dialect of the Ascoli area) is a frazione of the comune of Valle Castellana in the province of Teramo, inside the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park.

Laturo has no road access and can only be reached on foot.

The easiest access is from the hamlet of Olmeto: the trail starts from the small settlement of Valzo.

Lattanzi dates the founding of Laturo to between 1200 and 1300, but the remains of a wall of large stone blocks about 150 metres from the houses suggest an older date than the late-medieval village.

The origin of the name "Laturo" is still unclear. E. Giammarco reports that it was once known as "Calaturo", a name that fits the village's position on a ridge sloping from 893 to 800 metres, surrounded by higher hills. Historical maps from the late 1500s and early 1600s show it as "Delataro".

Another theory links the name to the grass pea (Lathyrus sativus), widely grown here until the village and its fields were abandoned.

Text: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · translated from Italian