Around Italy: Abruzzo, Italy’s Wild Heart Between the Apennines and the Adriatic

Around Italy: Abruzzo, Italy’s Wild Heart Between the Apennines and the Adriatic

Abruzzo stretches from some of the highest peaks of the Apennines to the Adriatic Sea. Mountains, high plateaus, forests, medieval towns, vineyards, olive groves, and coastal fishing communities create one of Italy’s most dramatic regional landscapes.

L’Aquila

The regional capital sits high in the Apennines and has long been tied to trade, pastoral routes, religion, and mountain culture. The city’s modern story is also shaped by the devastating 2009 earthquake and the long reconstruction that followed.

Santa Maria di Collemaggio

The basilica is one of L’Aquila’s defining monuments, famous for its patterned stone façade and connection with Pope Celestine V.

Gran Sasso

Corno Grande, the highest peak in the Apennines, rises within the Gran Sasso massif. Limestone ridges, forests, valleys, and high plateaus create a landscape of remarkable scale.

Campo Imperatore

The enormous plateau beneath Gran Sasso is one of the region’s most dramatic environments and historically an important sheep-grazing territory.

Shepherding and Transhumance

For centuries, Abruzzese shepherds moved flocks seasonally along wide routes known as tratturi. This system shaped trade, food, settlement, and regional identity.

Arrosticini

Small pieces of sheep or mutton are threaded onto narrow skewers and grilled over charcoal. Good arrosticini need little more than meat, heat, and salt.

Maccheroni alla Chitarra

Fresh pasta sheets are pressed through a wooden frame strung with wires, creating long square-edged strands with substantial texture.

Saffron of L’Aquila

The Navelli plateau is famous for saffron cultivation. Harvesting and processing the flowers by hand makes it one of the world’s most labor-intensive spices.

Pecorino

Sheep farming created a strong cheese tradition ranging from younger mild cheeses to firm, intensely savory aged pecorino.

National Parks

Abruzzo protects vast mountain areas through Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga, Maiella, and Abruzzo Lazio e Molise national parks.

Marsican Brown Bear

The rare Marsican brown bear became one of the symbols of central Apennine conservation.

Scanno

Stone houses and steep streets climb through a mountain valley near Lake Scanno, creating one of the region’s most recognizable inland towns.

Sulmona

Sulmona is associated with Roman poet Ovid and with the production of colorful sugar-coated almonds known as confetti.

Maiella

The Maiella massif contains cliffs, caves, forests, high plateaus, and remote hermitages used for centuries by monks and religious communities.

Rocca Calascio

The high-altitude fortress stands above open mountain terrain and is one of Italy’s most spectacular medieval ruins.

Santo Stefano di Sessanio

This stone mountain village near Campo Imperatore preserves the austere architecture of highland Abruzzo.

Costa dei Trabocchi

Southern Abruzzo’s coast is marked by wooden fishing structures extending over the Adriatic. These trabocchi became one of the region’s strongest maritime symbols.

Ortona and Vasto

Both towns preserve deep coastal identities. Vasto is especially connected with Brodetto alla Vastese, a regional fish stew built around the daily catch.

Pescara

Abruzzo’s largest modern urban center is associated with writer Gabriele D’Annunzio and serves as a major commercial and coastal hub.

Teramo

Teramo province is home to distinctive dishes such as Timballo alla Teramana, Scrippelle ’Mbusse, and the elaborate spring dish Le Virtù.

Pallotte Cacio e Ova

Cheese, eggs, and bread become meatless balls cooked in tomato sauce, one of the clearest examples of Abruzzese cucina povera.

Lamb

Lamb is central to inland cooking and appears grilled, roasted, stewed, and in festive preparations such as agnello cacio e ova.

Ventricina

The Vastese area is associated with a powerful cured pork specialty seasoned with peppers and spices.

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

The region’s best-known red wine is made from the Montepulciano grape, not from the Tuscan town of the same name.

Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo

A deeply colored rosé made from Montepulciano, Cerasuolo has enough structure to work with pasta, fish, and meat.

Trebbiano and Pecorino

Abruzzo’s white wines range from fresh everyday styles to serious age-worthy examples based on Trebbiano and Pecorino.

Olive Oil

The hills between mountains and coast support excellent olive cultivation and oils with green, herbal, peppery characteristics.

Parrozzo and Ferratelle

Parrozzo is an almond-based cake coated in chocolate, while ferratelle are patterned waffles cooked in engraved irons.

When to Visit

Spring is ideal for villages and lower-elevation hiking. Summer suits both coast and mountains. Autumn brings wine, mushrooms, saffron, and cooler temperatures, while winter transforms the Apennines with snow.

What Makes Abruzzo Special

Abruzzo compresses several Italies into one region: Adriatic fishing communities, heroic mountain landscapes, shepherding culture, saffron fields, vineyards, medieval villages, and protected wilderness. Its strength comes from landscape, resilience, and a deep connection between food and territory.

Around Italy by ZAFFERANO & CO.

Chef Gianluca