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Guide to Abruzzo

Guide to Abruzzo (61)

Our recommendations if you are planning a vacation or visit to Abruzzo.

ABRUZZO TRAVEL INFORMATION AND TOURISM SUGGESTIONS

The region of Abruzzo includes Pescara, L'Aquila, Teramo, Chieti, Sulmona, Scanno and Avezzano. Although the long coast of Abruzzo and Molise runs south along the Adriatic to Puglia, the ancient identity of the territory can be found inland.

Consult all our Abruzzo travel articles below. They are ordered by the latest added or updated. Alternatively, access them from the links in the right column divided by recipes, food, wine, itineraries, tours and trip suggestions. Our Abruzzo blog suggestion is www.lifeinabruzzo.com while join us on www.facebook.com/DeliciousAbruzzo.

Festival of Snakes, Cocullo

Published in Abruzzo Itineraries

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This is one of the most unique of the ancient festivals of Italy, which is celebrated in a peculiar way in the small town of Cocullo less than an hour's drive from Rome. The patron is Saint Dominic Abbot and local legend has it that the Saint did the townspeople a favor by rendering all the poisonous snakes in the area harmless. So when the Saint's statue is carried in procession on the first Thursday in May, the people drape it, and themselves, with hundreds of live, slithering snakes. The behavior of the snakes (none are poisonous) that are placed…

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Last modified on 21 May 2013

Abruzzo Tales: The Bonfire of Saint Anthony

Published in Abruzzo Itineraries

Today, Salle has a single “falò” in a small "piazzetta" overlooking the deep river gorge of the Fiume Orta at the edge of town. Our friend Pierluigi, one of the bonfire’s engineers, told me that the “falò” is lit at dusk and the festivities march late into the evening with folk music led by Antonello, the town’s resident accordionist who only recently succeeded my dad’s Compare Alberto after 60 years of dedicated service. The revelers each bring a bottle or two of “buon vino rosso,” and enjoy a meal of "sagne e fagioli" cooked in a traditional hand-hammered copper cauldron…

Last modified on 15 April 2013

Campli Porchetta Ham Festival

Published in Abruzzo Food

Ariccia in the Roman hills of Lazio is well known for its pork or porchetta. But this Italian roasted pork delicacy can be found across central Italy, not least in Campli in Abruzzo in the province of Teramo. At the middle of August go there for porchetta ham festival or 'sagra della porchetta italica'. It is, in effect, an annual competition when the best local pork is judged in the main square of Campli. The event attracts many people from around the region as well as curious holiday makers. It is the summer gourmet happening for this delightful town.

Last modified on 12 April 2013

Contemporary Abruzzo Cuisine

Published in Abruzzo Food

Several years ago, friends of our´s and I drove up this winding snake like mountain road, while our friends had insisted that this one was of the best restaurants for milk fed baby lamb. I had to imagine what the place had once been like, a modest, restaurant and inn ... in the middle of the land of shepherds. We had finally arrived at what is now a contemporary and beautiful hotel restaurant called La Bandiera and owned and run by Marcello Spadone and family. It is located in lands that look like emerald grazing isles, and rugged purple mountain…

Last modified on 06 April 2013

Marcello Spadone's Roast Milk Fed Baby Lamb

Published in Abruzzo Recipes

When I had first travelled to the village of Civitella Casanova, Pescara, in Abruzzi, La Bandiera Hotela and Restaurant were surrounded totally by shepherds tending their flocks ... Not all has changed on our last visit, however, for certainty not the roast milk fed baby lamb prepared by Marcello Spadone, owner and Restaurateur of La Bandiera, one of the best restaurants in the Abruzzi region. Here is the recipe ... INGREDIENTS 1 five pound leg of milk fed baby lamb or leg, trimmed of excess fat, 7 tblsps. of Extra virgin olive oil, 1/3 cup minced finely fresh herbs…

Last modified on 06 April 2013

Easter Cake recipe

Published in Abruzzo Recipes

This cake is very much part of Abruzzo tradition and grandmothers typically would shape the cake in a variety of ways, from boats and goslings to 'pupazzette' or dolls. ingredients flour (500 gr.), sugar (250 gr.), 5 eggs, olive oil (3 spoons), milk (0,5 dl), vanilla powder, butter, baking powder, lemon peel. to garnish: coloured pralines, caster sugar, egg white and lemon juice

Last modified on 27 March 2013

Easter in Sulmona

Published in Abruzzo Itineraries

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April is a fantastic time to travel to Abruzzo, especially Sulmona in the province of L'Aquila. It is easily reachable by car or else you can take the early train from Termini station in Rome. The route winds through the hills separating Lazio from Abruzzo before descending spectacularly into the 'Conca Peligna' where the city is located. At this time of year the trip should offer every imaginable season as the low land basks in the warmth while the peaks remain resolutely in winter. On arrival at Sulmona you should turn right outside the station and walk up the hill…

Last modified on 26 March 2013