Itinerary in Abruzzo, between villages and abbeys

On the hills of Abruzzo, behind Pescara, an itinerary dotted with villages and abbeys winds its way, still little known but full of charm and curiosity.

Cathedral of San Massimo, Penne
Cathedral of San Massimo, Penne

Penne, Loreto Aprutino, slipper, Casauria touch they are serene and rugged villages at the same time, full of art and history; framed by ridges covered with olive trees and vineyards, and open towards the cobalt blue of the Adriatic sea.

First day

Penne it stands on a hill, where the view extends up to Gran Sasso. It is a small village all up and down, with valuable stately buildings. Of great interest are the Porta San Francesco from 1780; the Cathedral and the nearby Museum; the churches of Sant'Agostino, dell'Annunziata (among the most beautiful of the 700th century in Abruzzo), San Giovanni Evangelista and San Domenico. A road approximately 5 km long descends from the town and leads to Lake Penne, which has become a Regional Nature Reserve, in whose 150 hectares of extension various species of resident and transient birds find refuge. Here, the WWF has also created an Oasis, where foxes, badgers, wild boars, martens, wild cats, skunks and weasels live.

There is also a Visitor Centre, an Environmental Education Centre, a Botanical Garden, a Butterfly Garden and an important otter repopulation centre, the real attraction of the park, which adults and children can admire from behind a glass window, when they dive into the clear waters of the lake, performing chases and underwater acrobatics, a real spectacle! From Penne, following the hilly road, you reach Loreto Aprutino, considered the small capital of Aprutino-Pescarese DOP extra virgin olive oil.

Of early medieval origins, the village houses architectural treasures, such as the fourteenth-century church of San Pietro Apostolo, on the top of the hill; the Palace of the Acerbo barons, with the largest collection of ancient Abruzzo ceramics; the thirteenth-century church of San Francesco and the Chiola Castle, transformed into a hotel de charme.

Second day

South-east of Loreto, still along the hilly road, you can reach the village of Pianella, which houses the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, built in the XNUMXth century by Benedictine monks on a hill not far from the centre. Outside, an elegant brick bell tower, the rose window and the portal of the Casauriense school stand out. The interior instead boasts a very rich limestone ambo, created by the master Acuto at the beginning of the thirteenth century and decorated with the symbols of the four evangelists.

South west of Pianella, a San Clemente a Casauria, near the town of Tocco, nestles the most famous abbey in Abruzzo, of very ancient origins: the foundation dates back to 871 AD. Sacked by Saracens and Normans, it was rebuilt at the end of the XNUMXth century. The portal and the portico preserve extraordinary bas-reliefs. Also of great elegance are the ambo, the altar made from a Roman sarcophagus and the crypt. San Clemente it is also a historical place, here, the Chronicon casauriense, considered a fundamental document for the knowledge of medieval Europe, and today kept in the Bibliotéque Nationale in Paris.

Abruzzo itineraries

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Information about Anna Bruno 123 Articles
Professional journalist, former reporter for "La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno", she specializes in travel, food, music and technologies. She is co-founder of the communication and digital PR agency FullPress Agency, she is the managing director of FullTravel.it, a travel magazine and of "VerdeGusto", as well as two other magazines. She is the author of “Digital Travel” and “Digital Food”, the fourth and fifth books respectively, for Flaccovio Editore. Digital Travel & Food Specialist, she is a consultant and teacher in training courses and is the delegate for the SOUTH and Islands of the Italian Travel Press (ITP).

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