Framed by the Adriatic and the Appenines, Abruzzo is one of the most mountainous regions in Italy, famous for the monasteries and castles that seem to cling to every clifftop. Historically relatively cut off, the pace of development here has been slower than elsewhere in Italy, and life here follows a seductively traditional pattern, despite the fact the region’s western borders lie only 50 miles east of Rome. Here, in little-visited hilltowns and villages, some virtually unchanged in centuries, Sunday markets groan with local produce, and tiny, family-run trattoria produce unassuming but exquisite feasts. Though Abruzzo’s 80-mile coastline boasts some of the finest Blue Flag beaches in Italy, it is Abruzzo National Park in the rugged mountainous interior that draws many visitors to the region. Criss-crossed by ancient shepherd tracks, covered almost entirely by centuries-old beechwood forest still sheltering wolves and bears, the 190-square mile park is the oldest in the Appenines, offering fantastic walking either through its forests and flower-filled meadows, or up among its 7,000ft granite summits. A beautiful yet little visited region boasting the most southerly glacier in Europe and the highest peak on the Italian peninsula, Abruzzo is an unassuming, enchanting delight.
Local highlights
Medieval castles abound, with Pescina, San Pio delle Camere, Celano and Ocre merely some the most spectacular; wandering the winding streets of the dramatic castletowns of Castel di Ieri and Fontecchio; Maiella National Park, with its 40 hermitages and chapels, wild-flower valleys and forests, and Gran Sasso (9,554ft), the highest summit on the Italian peninsula; the ski resort of Pescocostanzo, complete with 16th century palaces and 11th century churches; Ovid’s birthplace, Sulmona, a pretty medieval town in the shadow of Gran Sasso, with a 13th century aqueduct still supplying water to the town’s fountain, a stunning 11th century cathedral with Byzantine-style reliefs; 1st century Roman ruins of Alba Fucens; Gole di Celano, a 2,000ft gorge, with a twisting, dramatically narrow, well-marked track at its base; Ovindoli, a charming hilltop village and wonderful base for hikes and rides into Velino-Sirente Regional Park, where visitors can walk alongside an underground river at Stiffe past spectacular rock formations, giant stalactites, stalagmites and spectacular subterranean waterfalls; Castelli, another classic hilltown with vast views over the valley below Gran Sasso, famed for its contemporary art shops; the 9th century cathedral of Atri and its magnificent Renaissance frescoes; an abundance of monasteries clinging to the cliffs, including the baroque churches and 15th century cloisters of San Giuliano overlooking L’Aquila.
Getting out and about
You could spend a lifetime driving the minor roads that branch off the A24 between L’Aquila and Colledara. Littered with monasteries and castle, hilltowns and Roman ruins, the area offers rich pickings for anyone with a hire-car.
Travel arrangements
By air to Rome. Daily flights with British Airways from Heathrow and Gatwick. Daily flights with Alitalia from Heathrow. We include a hire-car with all our holidays to Latium and Abruzzo. Taxi transfers can be arranged instead. By rail you can take the Eurostar to Paris and then the overnight sleeper to Rome. Perhaps stay in Rome first and then collect your hire-car (or have a taxi transfer) for your stay in Latium, on the coast or in the country. With your own car we recommend at least two overnight stops in each direction, possibly three one way at least, perhaps in Alsace, the Italian Lakes and Tuscany. Let us advise you on an itinerary and make the arrangements for you. In addition to holidays by air, you may also be interested in holidays by rail (including the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and an overnight sleeper service from Paris to Italy), rail travel whilst you are in Italy or taking your own car all the way to Italy (self-drive holidays).