Beautiful place. Amazing view.
Location is great, castle at around 1540m above sea level but with great access by car. Parking is available but can be not enough in high season. In September, there was enough space there.
We loved our 3 day visit to Calascio, a beautiful medieval tiny village. We were able to spend 1 day sightseeing in Calascio visiting the castle and roaming the village. Since we were actually staying in Calascio at a Airbnb, we could drive up to the castle and then walk about 30 minutes to the castle and roam around. If you are not staying in Calascio, you must park outside Calascio and hke/walk to the castle (steep hill), fairly long. There is a nice restaurant at the castle. There are guards preventing cars to drive up to the castle. On the second day, we explored Castel del Monte (15 minute drive), my favorite. Lots to see and places to eat. On the third day, we explored Santo Steffano di Sessanio. The roads are scary and narrow. My husband had to do all the driving!
Rocca Calascio is one of the highest located castles in Italy. In it have been shot many beautiful movies (Ladyhawke, the name of the rose ...) Unfortunately the interior this year will be closed and it will be possible to visit only for external parts. But it is still very beautiful. It stands above a small village very nice. Definitely a place to visit. The only thing you need to know is how to reach it. I order the various options in order of preference.
1. If possible leave very early in the morning (the place is clearly always open), in this way you can reach by car the (tiny) parking in the village, park and walk to the Rocca Calascio. The walk is short (20 min), uphill but not difficult. You might be lucky and find free places also in other times, but only in low season.
2. If you can't go soon, then probably the village parking lot will be busy, so you should park your car in the town under the fortress (not the village, this town is called, incredibly , Calascio) and then take a bus that will take you to the fortress.
3. I saw people walking to the fortress directly from Calascio. This option is strongly discouraged because the road is not easy to walk.
Zig-zagging up the steep mountainside provides amazing views of the surrounding mountains and valley below. Parking is available nearby so only slight uphill walking is necessary to get into the quaint town below the castle ruins. Climbing even higher to the castle ruins gives a 360 degree panoramic view of the surrounding countryside and a realistic taste of the architecture and lifestyle of long ago. Behind the castle is a chapel and a peek into the window gives a great view of art work and statues inside. A friendly street vendor is available to sell souvenirs. Rocca Calascio is well worth the uphill hike, and something you won't want to miss.
The hike up from the village is easy, the last 30 feel to the top of the tower more challenging but worth the extra vistas viewable. You can see many distant peaks and enjoy the ruined castle itself for a 1-2 hour adventure.
