Abruzzo’s charming villages: a trip among nature, typical food and history.
Abruzzo is an Italian region composed of small villages which have often had a leading role in the development of the local culture. Each small village has its own artisan traditions and typical cuisine made with the products from the region.
DAY 1: ARRIVAL
Arrival in Abruzzo, accommodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 2: MAJELLA NATIONAL PARK
Activity level: leisurely / moderate – Duration : 2 1⁄2 hrs – Ascent and Descent: 195 m.
Breakfast in hotel and departure to Majella National Park.
We will enjoy an easy walk in the stunning gorge of Mount Majella: this is a circular path with a terrific view, situated in a territory rich in wild animals and plants.
The full day excursion will continue with the visit of a winery that produces some of the best regional D.O.C. wines, next we will have a light lunch with a guided wine tasting.
Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 3: ROCCAMORICE AND SERRAMONACESCA
Activity level: leisurely / moderate – Duration : 2 1⁄2 hrs – Ascent and Descent: 150 m.
Breakfast in hotel and departure to Roccamorice where we will visit a complex made out of Shepherd Stone Huts and one of the beautiful hermitages, characteristic of this area in Abruzzo.
The picturesque hermitage of San Bartolomeo di Legio is one of the most spectacular Celestinian Majella hermitages. The building is located under a rocky ridge that covers it enough to blend in the rock: the paths and roads to reach this hermitage are quite complex. It was built before the year 1000 and it was rebuilt in the XIII on the initiative of Fra’ Pietro Angeleri, future Pope Celestino V, who lived there between 1274 and 1276.
We will have a light lunch with typical regional food in a restaurant and then continue to Serramonacesca to visit the Abbey of San Liberatore a Maiella, that dates back to the XI Century and is one of the most beautiful Medieval buildings of Abruzzo.
We will also enjoy an easy walk along a creek in a very romantic valley.
Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 4: A DAY IN “THE LITTLE TIBET”
Activity level: moderate – Duration : 3 hrs – Ascent and Descent: 400 m
Breakfast in hotel and departure to “Gran Sasso-Monti della Laga National Park”, where we will discover an area so bleak and remote it is known as the ‘Little Tibet’. You will enjoy a stunning view of the highest mountain in the Apennines, Mount Gran Sasso (2912 mt.).
After a lunch break in an “old western saloon” with local food and the typical delicatessen “arrosticini” (made from sheep or lamb meat, cut in chunks and pierced by a skewer), we will take an easy walk in Campo Imperatore area, a big highland, more than 26 Km long and 10 km wide, located 1600 m above sea level. Emperor Frederick II thought that this was a magical place and therefore gave it the name of Campo Imperatore (The Emperor’s field). Campo Imperatore was also the set of cult “spaghetti western” films such as, “They Call Me Trinity” and “Trinity is Still My Name” by Enzo Barboni, starring Bud Spencer and Terence Hills.
We will continue the journey and reach Santo Stefano di Sessanio, one of the most characteristic villages in Abruzzo, a medieval fortified hamlet that, between ‘500 and ‘700, was part of the Granducato di Toscana and an important outpost of the Florentine wool merchants because very close to the big pasture of Campo Imperatore.
Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 5: CALANCHI DA ATRI
Activity level: leisurely – Duration : 2 hrs – Ascent and Descent: 250 m
Breakfast in hotel and departure to the Regional Nature Reserve and WWF Oasis “Calanchi di Atri”, a place rich in various animal and vegetable species, where we will take an easy walk.
This area hosts one of the most fascinating natural forms, created by the Mediterranean climate: the “calanchi” (“badlands”), which are typical, geomorphological processes of erosion of clayey ground by a climate characterized by the alternation of storms and dry season.
After the visit of “the calanchi”, we will continue with the guided tour of the millennial art city Atri, located not far from the Adriatic coast and one of the most beautiful Renaissance towns in Abruzzo.
Atri is full of works of arts, such as the Cathedral of Santa Maria dell’Assunta, which is one of the most famous monuments in Abruzzo and hosts a cycle of frescoes painted from 1450 onwards; the Palazzo Ducale degli Acquaviva, now the townhall, the Town Theatre and the Agostinianos Church.
From the Belvedere of Atri you can relish the panoramic scenery, starting from the Gran Sasso Heights to the clear sea. After the visit, we will enjoy an Italian Aperitivo.
Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 6: DEPARTURE
