Beginning as a lone watchtower high in the Apennines of Italy in the 10th century, the fortress called Rocca Calascio gained more heft over the next few hundred years. A quartet of additional towers and heavy walls were gradually added around the first tower. These fortifications made clear that Rocca Calascio was ready for any military rivals who might scale the slopes from the valley below to attack this garrison. The fight never came. The ruins you see here are not battle scars but the result of a powerful earthquake. By the early 1700s, Rocca Calascio was abandoned, but it can still claim the title of highest fortress in the Apennines—and some of the most spectacular views in all of Italy. In fact, filmmakers have chosen the site for several movies, including "The Name of the Rose" and "Ladyhawke."
A fortress in the sky
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
A river runs through it
-
A dying breed of tree thrives in an American park
-
A winter’s holiday ends
-
Daintree Rainforest and Noah Beach, Queensland, Australia
-
A little bit of Wonderland in New York City
-
A big birthday for Big Bend
-
Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan, India
-
When science looks like magic
-
Angkor, Cambodia
-
International Tea Day
-
Aerial view of the Colorado River Delta in Mexico
-
Lake Misurina, Dolomites, Italy
-
In praise of bogs, swamps, and marshes
-
The Big Blue of the Sierra
-
World Jellyfish Day
-
Mexican giant cardon cactus
-
Languid life on the Lakes
-
Tiny fliers head south
-
Boxing Day
-
Spine-cheeked anemonefish in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea
-
World Environment Day
-
In praise of the pipes
-
Oxbow Bend on the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
-
Tigh Mor Trossachs on Loch Achray, Scotland
-
Snow on the temple
-
Seitan Limania Beach, Crete
-
A bridge comes full circle
-
The Bazaruto Archipelago of Mozambique
-
Nesting season for the leatherbacks
-
Aspens in the White River National Forest, Colorado
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

