Castelvecchio

Castelvecchio, at 956 meters above sea level, is a small fraction of the municipality of Sante Marie from which it is about 3 km away and is the first fraction that meets on the Tiburtina Valeria coming from Rome.
Although the origins of a castle are presumed, Castelvecchio is mentioned in the Pope Clement III's bull in 1187 as "Sancti Martini in Castello Vetulo" as the church of the same name, when it was already an autonomous municipality. Part of the nearby hamlet of Santo Stefano was part of the municipality of Castelvecchio, but when they broke away between the two countries a rivalry was born that is still remembered by the grandparents.

In the church of Castelvecchio dedicated to San Martino are the statue of Sant’Angelo and the Madonna delle Grazie of the Middle Ages, a bell from 1351 and a painting of the Madonna by a Hungarian painter Carlo Frejes, from the period of the Italian Risorgimento.At the center of the picturesque village there is a fountain of spring water that comes from the "Fonte deglio Rugnale" of the nearby Santo Stefano.
Castelvecchio is the country most surrounded by chestnut woods, and just the chestnut is the main product along with the mushrooms, in particular the porcini mushrooms from which "the boletus festival" is born, which takes place every year in the country on 12 and 13 August.Castelvecchio is called the country of the soul, where today around 50 people reside and where tranquility is assured.