Castello di Sant'Eusanio Forconese

Castello di Sant'Eusanio Forconese (Italian for Castle of Sant'Eusanio Forconese) is a  Middle Ages castle in Sant'Eusanio Forconese, Province of L'Aquila (Abruzzo).

History
The building has a structure of an enclosure castle to provide shelter to the population in case of danger. The presence of a tank of drinking water, however, suggests that the structure was able to provide shelter for long periods of time, in contrast to other enclosure castles the area.

Its position in the meddle of the valley of the Aterno-Pescara river, among castle of Ocre, castle of San Pio delle Camere and castle of Barisciano, made it a strategic component for the defense of L'Aquila.

Architecture
The fence has a square plant with walls connecting five semi-circular towers (between three and five meters of internal diameter) and four square towers. The walls have a thickness of about one meter and a height varying from five to seven meters. On the western side of the fence, with no natural defenses, the castle is protected by a moat.

The entrance is an arched door in a square tower, close to the church of Our Lady of the Castle, celebrated every first Sunday of August. This church was built inside the enclosure in the 17th-18th century, when the castle lost its defensive function.