Explore the abstract of this artwork.
Castrovalva is a lithograph print by the Dutch artist M. C. Escher, first printed in February 1930.  Like many of Escher's early works, it depicts a place that he visited on a tour of Italy.
It depicts the Abruzzo village of Castrovalva, which lies at the top of a sheer slope. The perspective is toward the northwest, from the narrow trail on the left which, at the point from which this view is seen, makes a hairpin turn to the right, descending to the valley. In the foreground at the side of the trail, there are several flowering plants, grasses, ferns, a beetle and a snail. In the expansive valley below there are cultivated fields and two more towns, the nearest of which is Anversa degli Abruzzi, with Casale in the distance.
Anversa degli Abruzzi Abruzzo Castrovalva Dutch Italy left lithograph Casale M. C. Escher