Abruzzo is considered a large permanent open-air museum. Discovering its extraordinary natural landscape, walking through its ancient and elegant cities and millenary villages perched on the peaks, the first impression is that of a region that has managed to preserve many of its original characteristics.
The charm of Abruzzo lies in the measured balance between nature that still dominates the landscape and the stratified presence of man: here then is the theory of small villages that dot the area, the architectural strength of churches, castles and palaces, the preciousness of works of art, the multiple expressions of artistic craftsmanship and the millenary peasant and pastoral traditions.
All this invites attentive tourists to explore the Abruzzo territory, in search of those peculiarities that make this region splendid.
A variegated territory of natural landscapes in which sea and mountains come together in a single embrace: we pass from mountain environments, with perennial snow and the presence of rare faunal species such as the Marsican brown bear, chamois and the wolf, symbol of the Maiella national park on the coasts marine characterized by long kilometers of beach, clear waters and pine forests.
The region offers a wide range of proposals and activities aimed at young people: the long coasts of the beaches make this region one of the best destinations in the Adriatic with its wonderful sea which has been awarded several blue flags for years.
PLACES TO VISIT
Sanctuary of the Madonna dello Splendore in Giulianova
Sanctuary of the Madonna dello Splendore is one of the most popular places of worship in the province of Teramo and a destination for pilgrimages all year round.
The sanctuary was erected in the place where on 22nd April 1557 the Virgin appeared to a farmer.
Legend has it that Bertolino, a farmer, was blinded by a dazzling light while resting under an olive tree.
Within that beam of light was the Virgin who asked the farmer to bring back to the community his request to have a sanctuary erected in that place. Bertolino, however, was not believed, he was mocked and what he had seen was questioned.
The Virgin appeared to him again, and this time, the man went to the Governor to advance the Virgin's request. The latter, in front of the farmer's insistence, seized with a fit of anger, ordered a servant to beat him brutally, but the Virgin paralyzed him and made him mute.
The governor and the rest of the community then went there to see with their own eyes what had been told by Bertolino.
Thus it was that the Virgin revealed herself to each of them without distinction, leaving everyone dismayed. A source of pure water gushed out at the base of the olive tree and the first to be miraculously cured by those waters was the servant who had beaten Bertolino who regained the use of body and speech.
Until the beginning of the 1800s, the Sanctuary was first assigned to the spiritual care of the Celestine fathers who lived in the monastery annexed to the church, later the Sanctuary was entrusted to the care of the Capuchin friars.
The Capuchins made changes and embellishments to the Sanctuary: they enlarged the sacristy, built a choir, new rooms in the Convent and erected a bell tower. However, over the years, the Sanctuary has undergone further hardships which have progressively modified its original layout.
In the three-year period 1989-92, a small votive temple was rebuilt surrounded by a green area around the aquifer terminal of the "source of the Madonna" where pilgrims can draw water and bathe for the desire for healing for themselves or for their own Dear. The place where the source is located is embellished with mosaics depicting sacred episodes from the Old and New Testaments.
Atri
A small jewel of the Teramo hinterland, Atri lies on a ridge between the Vomano and Piomba rivers, with a spectacular view of the sea, in an area engraved by the characteristic gullies protected by the "Calanchi di Atri" Guided Nature Reserve.
Considered a city of great prestige since the 11th century BC, thanks to the Dukes of Aquaviva it is one of the most characteristic villages in the province of Teramo.
Atri has very ancient origins: probable site of a pre-Roman fortified settlement, it was a Roman colony whose importance and vivacity are testified by the numerous finds that have come to light in recent years.
The most evident signs of the Roman Atri are those of the imperial era, one of the moments of maximum splendor of the city. There are many remains of monuments from the Roman period: in the center of the city, in the Crypt of the Cathedral, a quadrangular pool was found below the altar.
In the 19th century the city underwent a new urban layout with the construction of the two main public buildings: the Teatro Comunale, inaugurated in 1881, and the Palazzo della Città, now the seat of the Court, erected in 1882, both in a classical style.
The monument, however, par excellence is the splendid Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta already existing in the 12th century, transformed and enlarged from the seventh-eighth decade of the 1200s. The cloister leads to the Capitolare Museum which houses valuable paintings, medieval and Renaissance goldsmiths, wooden sculptures, a collection of Abruzzo ceramics and much more.
Remarkable is the Church of Santa Reparata. With a cruciform plan, it was erected next to the cathedral.
Due to its varied beauty and the many opportunities it offers, Atri is considered one of the most sought-after tourist destinations by tourists.
Do not miss the folkloric night of the Faugni: every year at dawn on 8 December, in a mix of pagan and peasant tradition, high bundles of reeds tied by vegetable laces are lit and carried in procession, in memory of the peasant custom to light propitiatory fires before the winter solstice.
Civitella del Tronto
Located in the Val Vibrata, perched on a rock stands Civitella del Tronto, one of the most evocative villages in the heart of Abruzzo. A mixture of history and art, located on a rocky cliff, below the imposing Bourbon fortress that dominates everything from above. Its fortress has gone down in history as the last bastion of the Bourbons and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies; it was the last stronghold to fall, on 20 March 1861, three days after the proclamation of the unification of Italy to the Piedmontese troops after an ambush that lasted 146 days.
Even today it is possible to relive that glorious past walking through the streets of the historic center adorned with historic buildings embellished with chiseled portals. One of the attractions of the village is La Ruetta, the narrowest street in Italy, which can be crossed by one person at a time; in the past used by the soldiers who defended the Fort, taking the enemy by surprise.
Civitella is known for its numerous medieval and Renaissance buildings, the central streets, via Mazzini and via Roma which are dotted with stately homes such as the Palazzo del Conte de' Ermes, the churches of San Francesco (the fourteenth-century rose window and the wooden ) and of San Lorenzo, the Franciscan Convent of the Madonna dei Lumi and the stupendous abbey of Montesanto.
Impossible not to visit the Fortress, one of the most important military engineering works in Italy, inside which the Museum of Weapons and Ancient Maps was inaugurated in 1988, which exhibits maps, weapons and other relics related to the history and vicissitudes of the stronghold.
Civitella is the place to visit if you want to spend a few hours outside our relais.
Campli
Located on a hill between the valleys of the Fiumicini and Siccagno streams, there is a charming village, a real treasure chest: Campli.
As evidenced by the archaeological finds found, it has very ancient origins but only in the Middle Ages did it reach its maximum splendor when it was governed by the Farnese family.
The village of Campli is considered a real city of art for its wealth of monuments. Walking through the streets of the city you can visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria in Platea, guardian of important artistic works, the National Archaeological Museum, located in the ancient convent of San Francesco which houses the remains of the Necropolis of Campovalano, the Palazzo Farnese, admirable example of architectural structure dating back to the medieval period and the Scala Santa, built in 1776 on the occasion of the Jubilee.
It is a staircase of 28 steps in olive wood, accompanied by paintings that depict the most touching moments of the Passion of Christ; in fact it was traveled by the faithful on their knees in order to obtain the plenary indulgence of their faults, just as it happened on the Scala Santa in Rome.
Campli also has its own culinary tradition and has a rich calendar of festivals and popular events to attend. Not to be missed, in August, is the Porchetta Festival: one of the first festivals born in Abruzzo and dating back to 1964. In those days it was customary to cook the porchetta, inserted into a wooden pole, in the wood-burning ovens used for bread; and still today, the porchettari of Cample, all pupils of the masters of the tradition, prepare the porchetta with the systems of ancient teaching.
