Abruzzo is one of the most privileged of all Italy, on the eastern side, has a façade which bathes its shores coastline on the Adriatic Sea, punctuated by evocative fishing harbors and secret coves, while on the western chain of limestone Abruzzo escort gorgeous wooded patches where field last Italian wolves and bears.
Abruzzo is blessed with over 30% of their protected territory, which are three national parks, one regional park and dozens of areas and nature reserves. Abruzzo National Park is one of these protected areas, covering an area of over 44,000 hectares this enclave has become a rather crucial for the survival of two jewels of the Palearctic fauna: the brown bear and wolf. The first of these species had almost disappeared from Italy, but thanks to the efforts of park staff, it is still possible to have your presence these mountains, the wolf is also in a critical situation, which required two decades Operazione San Francesco release as long as the last preserve copies of this cánido wild.

Bobcats, deer, chamois, golden eagles, hawks … The fauna of the Abruzzo National Park is as spectacular as its landscape, marked by the moles of the Gran Sasso (2912 meters), the Majella (2795 meters) or Velino (2486), usually covered by snow for a turban.

This kind of stone heart of Italy is so rich in history and culture as the rest of the country. Peligna valley in the province of Aquila, is the city of Sulmona, Ovid’s birthplace, the famed poet of love in this town you can enjoy a remarkable architectural legacy that belongs to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, as the Palazzo dell’Anunziata. Ancient Roman city of Sulmona remaining remnants of the walls and Porta Napoli, a beautiful stone arch. The renaissance has magnificent performances in the city, including the Fontana del Vecchio, in Piazza Garibaldi.

Pescasseroli in town in the heart of National Park is the Recoleta church of San Pietro and San Paolo, the twelfth century and an interesting church in Caramel, in a neoclassical style. This town is also the ideal starting point for enjoying winter sports, mainly skiing.

If you prefer to breathe air is iodized sea as we roast in the sun, Abruzzo offers a handful of coastal cities where you can enjoy the beach and temperate environments, such is the case of Pineto, escorted by the beautiful name that gives Pinada and collected over a long sandy beach. Lido di Casalbordino is also a good place to stop, has at its end with the beautiful Punta Aderci regional reserve, 285 hectares of spectacular rocky coastline is not tainted by the cement of great botanical, geological and biological. The reserve is an ideal place to practice diving and for lovers of bird watching.

At the other end of this reserve is the beautiful city of Vasto, known for its varied coastline and its historic and artistic legacy. Noted for its beauty Palazzo D’Avalos, where he lived for long periods Vittoria Colonna, friend of Michelangelo. Renaissance structure, their ceilings decorated with frescoes and magnificent gardens are the hallmarks of this beautiful building overlooking the Adriatic.

Another is the vast treasures of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, whose construction dates back to the end of the eleventh century. Inside there are works by Paolo Veronese, Titian’s school and Francesco Solimene, as a relic of great devotion in the area, the Sacra Spina, who is believed to belong to the crown that Christ ported over Calvary.

Special mention deserve the remains of the Roman baths of the ancient city of Histonium where light shines with a very beautiful mosaic of exceptional size (170 square meters) with the representation of Neptune and the four Nereids.

We must march from Vasto without going through some funds from the area to test the ‘brodetto alla pescarese’, a kind of fish or the zarzuela ‘scapece’, a traditional dish of the area consisting of fish preserved in vinegar, served with a glass of Trebbiano d’Abruzzo.