The fortress of Civitella del Tronto is an imposing work of military engineering carried out on the soil of medieval Italy. The buildings (magazines, guard and residential buildings) extend over about 500 meters in length and an average width of 45 meters, with an area of 25,000 m², on a ridge. The fortress was built at over 600 meters above sea level near the border line between the counties of Ascoli Piceno and Abruzzo and rises above the center of the village at an altitude between the Vibrata stream and the Salinello river. From the fortress you have a wonderful panoramic view from the Salinello valley over the Vibrata valley to the Trontotal. If the weather is nice and clear, you can also see the Monti Gemelli, Gran Sasso, Monti della Laga, Majella, Monte Acensione and the Adriatic Sea.
When the soldiers gradually withdrew from 1870, the fortress was abandoned. In the period that followed, the buildings fell into disrepair and the residents of Civitella "used" the structures to build their own houses - the fortress was turned into a quarry. Extensive restoration and renovation work began in 1975, so that the fortress was partially rebuilt in its current form and, above all, was able to be preserved.
With around 45,000 visitors per year (2016), it is the most visited monument in Abruzzo.