Beauty wins over everything in Rasiglia

Rasiglia is a typical Umbrian medieval village situated at 2125 ft., in the valley of the river Menotre, in the province of Perugia.

Around 40 inhabitants live in this small enchanted world in the mountains, consisting of about fifty stone houses. Rasiglia casket of Umbria over the centuries also undergoes a sudden depopulation, especially after the earthquake of ’97.

The village remained almost totally abandoned to itself for ten years, until 2007, when the nostalgia and love of a few, start again to look into the future.

The spark of rebirth is Rasiglia and its sources an association of social promotion aimed at the recovery and enhancement of the landscape and historical-anthropological assets of the village.

Now, alongside the “irreducible elderly”, there are young people who want to re-trace in these places, their identity and heritage.

It’s a volunteer work that links the threads of the past with a daily living in the present, a true act of love. Ravaglia means learning and listening to the earth, eyes and voices.

It is tangible proof that realizing an utopia, thanks to cooperation and work for the common wealth, is possible.

Rasiglia is a place to live, but more than ever is the beauty winning over everything. Life here flows slowly, surrounded by nature, in the very deep roots of the community.

The village is fed by several springs, the one of Capovena is located in the upper part of the village, and its waters flow through small canals, resulting in a tangle of reservoirs and waterfalls inside the village, until it flows into a large tank, called the Fishmonger.

Rasiglia is also known as “Borgo dei ruscelli”, “Hamlet of creeks”.

The great abundance of water in the inner canal was exploited to develop the economy and determined the formation, along its course, of numerous factories: wheat mills, wool mills and dyeing mills that carried out the processing of precious fabrics.

The village is also an open-air textile eco-museum, with guided tours that allow you to discover techniques, tools and evolution of weaving.

The inhabitants volunteers, the soul of the village, are your guides.

They organize reenactments and events.  In the month of June “Rasiglia and Penelope” is a vibrant event dedicated to the ancient crafts of weaving,  historical-cultural traditions that the jealous sensitivity of the villagers preserve intact, functional, handed down.

Visitors can interact directly with the vintage weaving tools using them personally.

Stories of daily life and work that revolved around this activity are narrated.

It is an evocative moment reminiscent of the vocation and popular traditions, as well as recovery of industrial archaeology of the place.

One can continue exploring nearby places such as the Castle of Rasiglia – built by the lords of Foligno between 1305 and 1439 for military use – which stands above the village. Or others with various castles in the villages of Annifo, Colfiorito, Capodacqua, Verchiano, Roccafranca and the fortresses of Calestro, Afrile, Salvino, Pasano and Serra Valtopina.

Another site worth the visit is a wonderful place of worship, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace witness of the deep faith of the jealous and attentive custodians of Rasiglia.

It is a place nestled in the greenery and the surreal peace, surrounded by the quiet and silence of the woods, where you can perceive in the air all the mystery and sacredness.

The Madonna is celebrated on the night of the first Sunday of September with a procession of candles and torches while decorations adorn with festoons and lights the houses and streets of the village.

But mysticism is at its peak under Christmas, when an enchanted atmosphere descends on the small village: that of its Nativity scene.

Again the inhabitants are the best interpreters and ambassadors of the ancient intimacy of Rasiglia.