Abruzzo: Sulmona, the Gran Sasso and the Hill Villages

Rome to Sulmona across the Apennines

Rome Fiumicino Airport or Roma Termini station to Sulmona

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Sulmona
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Soir

In the early evening your guide walks you down Corso Ovidio, named for the Roman poet born here in 43 BC, to Piazza Garibaldi and the arches of the medieval aqueduct, and we sit down together for a welcome dinner of local dishes.

Compris

• Pick-up at Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) or Roma Termini station
• A coffee stop on the way across the Apennines
• Evening walk in Sulmona: Corso Ovidio, Piazza Garibaldi and the aqueduct
• Welcome dinner in Sulmona

Sulmona's confetti, then Scanno and the Sagittario gorge

Sulmona to the Sagittario gorge and Scanno, and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Sulmona
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

The morning is in Sulmona on foot with a local guide. We start at the Santissima Annunziata, a hospital and church complex whose facade mixes Gothic and Renaissance work, then walk the old centre to Piazza Garibaldi, where the 13th-century aqueduct runs along one side. Sulmona is known across Italy for confetti, sugared almonds given at weddings and christenings, and still made here by family firms. We visit a confetti maker and its small museum to see the old copper pans and the flowers and bouquets the makers shape from the sweets, and taste a few.

Après-midi

Lunch is together in town. In the early afternoon we drive about 40 minutes south into the Sagittario gorge, where the road squeezes between limestone walls beside the river, and take a short walk in the WWF reserve below Anversa degli Abruzzi. We continue past Villalago to the lake of Scanno and up to Scanno itself, a village of steep stone lanes where a few older women still wear the dark traditional dress. Time to wander and buy local filigree jewellery, then back to Sulmona by about 7 pm.

Compris

• Sulmona with a local guide: the Santissima Annunziata, the old centre and Piazza Garibaldi
• A confetti maker, its museum and a tasting
• Lunch in Sulmona
• A short walk in the Sagittario gorge reserve
• The lake of Scanno and Scanno village with your guide

Chamois and wolf country in the national park

Sulmona to Civitella Alfedena in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Sulmona
• Environ 3 h de route

Après-midi

We come down for a late lunch together in the park, then visit the wolf museum in Civitella Alfedena, which explains how the wolf came back from near extinction in Italy. We are back in Sulmona by about 4:30 pm, with the rest of the day free.

Compris

• Guided wildlife walk with a park-authorised guide in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park
• Lunch in the park
• The wolf museum in Civitella Alfedena

Bominaco and Navelli to Santo Stefano di Sessanio

Sulmona to Bominaco and Navelli, then Santo Stefano di Sessanio and Rocca Calascio

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
• Nuit : Santo Stefano di Sessanio
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

By late morning we reach Santo Stefano di Sessanio, a stone village at about 1,250 m inside the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, once a wool town of the Medici. Many of its houses were empty for decades until they were restored as an albergo diffuso, a hotel spread through the village, and you sleep here two nights.

Après-midi

Lunch and the early afternoon are free. In the late afternoon we go up to Rocca Calascio, a ruined castle at about 1,460 m with the octagonal church of Santa Maria della Pietà below it, as the light turns gold over the valley.

Soir

Dinner together in Santo Stefano, with the village's small lentils on the menu.

Compris

• The Oratory of San Pellegrino in Bominaco
• Navelli village
• Santo Stefano di Sessanio with your guide
• Rocca Calascio and Santa Maria della Pietà in the late afternoon
• Dinner in Santo Stefano di Sessanio

Campo Imperatore under the Gran Sasso

Santo Stefano di Sessanio to Castel del Monte and Campo Imperatore, and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Santo Stefano di Sessanio
• Environ 2 h de route

Après-midi

We leave at about 8:30 am, because cloud often builds on the peaks after midday, and drive through Castel del Monte, a village of shepherds' houses and covered passages, up onto the plateau. Herds of horses, cattle and sheep graze the open grassland, and in June the meadows are full of flowers. We drive the length of the plateau to the old hotel at about 2,130 m where Mussolini was held in 1943, and from there you choose: an easy stroll with views over the plateau, or a climb of about an hour on a mountain path towards the Duca degli Abruzzi refuge. In summer the alpine botanical garden beside the road is open. Lunch is at a plateau ristoro where lamb arrosticini, small skewers grilled over coals, are the local meal, with bread, cheese and wine. We are back in Santo Stefano by mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day is yours.

Compris

• Castel del Monte village
• Campo Imperatore plateau with your guide
• Arrosticini lunch on the plateau

Activités en option

• The alpine botanical garden at Campo Imperatore, when open in summer (paid locally)

The Orta valley and a trabocco lunch on the coast

Santo Stefano di Sessanio to the Orta valley, then the Costa dei Trabocchi and Vasto

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Vasto
• Environ 3 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch together is on one of them: the fish and seafood of the day, cooked simply, with the nets hanging overhead. Afterwards we stop at the abbey of San Giovanni in Venere above Fossacesia, a Romanesque church on a headland over the sea, then drive half an hour south to Vasto.

Soir

After some free time, your guide takes you along the Loggia Amblingh, the old town's balcony over the gulf, and we end the trip with a farewell dinner in Vasto.

Compris

• A short walk in the Valle dell'Orta reserve
• Fish lunch on a trabocco on the Costa dei Trabocchi
• The abbey of San Giovanni in Venere
• Evening walk on Vasto's Loggia Amblingh
• Farewell dinner in Vasto

Activités en option

• A ride on the Via Verde, the cycle path along the old coastal railway (bike hire paid locally, on request)

Punta Aderci, then Pescara

Vasto to the Punta Aderci reserve, then Abruzzo Airport (PSR) or Pescara Centrale station

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

A gentle last morning by the sea. After breakfast we drive ten minutes north of Vasto to the Punta Aderci nature reserve, where a path runs along low cliffs above sandy coves and the clear water around the Punta Penna headland and its lighthouse. Walk as far as you like for an hour or so, with time for a coffee and a swim in summer. In the late morning we drive north up the coast road and the A14 motorway to Pescara, about an hour, and drop you at Abruzzo Airport (PSR) or at Pescara Centrale station. Pescara airport has a limited number of flights, and buses and trains connect the city with Rome in about 3 to 4 hours, so plan a flight home from Rome for the next day. If you would rather end the trip back in Rome, ask us and we quote a drop at Fiumicino or Termini. If you want more time by the sea or in the mountains, we can add nights in Vasto or Sulmona.

Compris

• A morning walk in the Punta Aderci reserve
• Drop-off at Abruzzo Airport (PSR) or Pescara Centrale station