The Abruzzo - Beauty and Nature in Italy's Backcountry

The territory of Abruzzo is, roughly, the shape of a semicircle with a diameter of about 150 kilometres. The coastline, 129 kilometres long, stretches from the river Tronto to the Trigno and constitutes the eastern boundary of the region, while the North borders with Marche, the South with Molise and the West with Lazio. The land boundaries of the region are 467 kilometres long altogether.

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The regional territory covers 10,794 square kilometres, the majority of which (65.1%, 7,027 square kilometres) is mountainous. 34.9% is constituted by hills. The statistics do not mention the plains. Near the coast, in fact, there are no plains, whereas in the inland there are a few, in the river's valley bottoms and also at high altitudes. The largest plain, the Piana del Fucino, can be considered "artificial" because it was the result of the drying up of the lake Fucino in the last century. The territory of the four provinces of Abruzzo is divided into very different areas. The province of L'Aquila is totally characterized by mountains; in the Chieti area hills prevail, while in Pescara and Teramo the areas covered by mountains are more or less the same as those covered by hills.

During the winter, the Abruzzo mountains offer to the keen snow-lovers numerous possibilities for downhill, cross-country, and alpine sluing, and, the latest passion of the youngsters, the snowboard. Winter tourism has changed radically the life of the many towns that realised the need to change and have made "snow" their enterprise. The highest number of winter resorts can be found in the L'Aquila province, but the Teramo side of Gran Sasso and the Majella also offer a good level of facilities. There are 22 winter resorts and a few words on each one of these is necessary.

The coastline of Abruzzo is varied, where the low and sandy shores to the north contrast with the inclined shores to the south. The sette sorelle (seven sisters), seven seaside resorts in the province of Teramo, from Martinsicuro to Silvi, the Pescara and the Francavilla al Mare beaches, offer high level accomodation, night-clubs, and in Pescara itself, even a modern marina. To the south the scenery changes radically: from Ortona to Vasto and as far as S. Salvo, sloping shores surrounded by the rich Mediterranean vegetation appear on the coastline. They too, are well equipped for a pleasant holiday. The nostalgic fishing past emerges between S. Vito and Fossacesia, where the travocchi, singular fishing huts built on piles, are still today used by the local fishermen

If you like interesting day hikes, you're in the right place if you're in the Abruzzo. The Abruzzo has quite a few National Parks and nature preserves, among them the National Park of Abruzzo, the Majella National Park, the mountainous Gran Sasso, and the Parco Naturale Regionale Sirente-Velino. Many hiking trails are available, and you may see Apennine wolves, Marsican bears, foxes, mountain goats or the rare Apennine lynx.

Like the territory, the traditional Cuisine of the Abruzzo is rustic, with many dishes made from lamb and mutton. As with many rural areas, the preservation of food in the Abruzzo has become an art. My favorite salame comes from here: Ventricina. Ventricina is spicy from the addition of hot chilies, and contains some orange peel to give it an interesting tang. There is also a rare lamb salame made here, salame di pecora.

PROVINCE OF PESCARA

The smallest province of the Abruzzi region includes territories north and south the basin of the river Pescara from the gorges of Popoli to the sea, with the profiles of the Maiella and Gran Sasso mountains to the west. The most highly-populated province in the region, with its capital, the city of Pescara, the largest urban area, a fishing center of great importance and one of the major tourist and business centers on the Adriatic Sea.

PROVINCE OF TERAMO

The Province of Teramo is the northernmost province of Abruzzo, at the border with the Ascoli-Piceno province, along the Adriatic sea. It is less than two hours away by car from Rome with which it is connected by a comfortable motorway passing below the Gran Sasso through a 10km long tunnel. The territory has a great variety since in a space of hardly 40 km air-line, it goes from the Adriatic beaches to the almost 3000 meters of the highest Appenine peaks. It is crossed west to east by the seven valleys of the rivers Tronto, Vibrata, Salinello, Tordino, Vomano, Piomba and Fino. Along the coast there are the beautiful seaside resorts of Martinsicuro, Alba Adriatica, Tortoreto, Giulianova, Roseto degli Abruzzi, Pineto and Silvi Marina, immediately in the hinterland the ancient historical centres of Civitella del Tronto, Campli, Nereto, Notaresco, Castellalto and Castelbasso, Montepagano, Atri, and up into the mountains the picturesque villages of Castelli, celebrated majolica capital of Abruzzi, Isola del Gran Sasso with the sanctuary of St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin, Pietracamela, Montorio, and the ski fields of Prati di Tivo.

PROVINCE OF CHIETI

The Province of Chieti is mostly a hilly and mountainous area between the Adriatic sea to the east and the Maiella chain to the north-west. It is extensively cultivated with olive trees and vineyards, and produces celebrated wines and extravirgine olive oil. The province of Chieti was called "Citeriore" since it was situated to the right of the Pescara river and was in Latin "citra" (=this side) with reference to Naples, the capital of the Kingdom. The Pescara river separated it from the province of Teramo, the Apennine Mountains from the province of L'Aquila, the right shore of the Sangro and the Valicella of the Varrino from Molise. The territory includes mountainous features, the group of the Maiella, and 72 km of steep and rocky coast, along the Adriatic sea.

PROVINCE OF L'AQUILA

The province is the largest in Abruzzo and occupies the western part of the region; it is the only province that has no access to the sea, and includes the highest mountains of the Apennines (Gran Sasso, Maiella and Velino-Sirente). There are many rivers, such as the Aterno-Pescara, Sangro, Liri, Salto, Turano and an abundance of springs and water coming form the abundant snowfall. Besides the natural lakes of Scanno and Barrea there is the large artificial lake of Campotosto. In the Gran Sasso mountain there is also the southernmost glacier in Europe, called the Calderone. The province has a very low population density, and a territory full of castles and fortified medieval boroughs on top of mountains. It included once the largest lake in the Italian peninsule, Lake Fucino, where in antiquity the Romans came on holiday, which was drained with the third biggest engineering project in the late 19th century (the other 2 being the Eiffel Tower and the Suez Canal). The Fucino land is today a flourishing agricultural area, and an important technological district in the region.

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