The National Park of Abruzzo
Itineraries
Recommended period: Spring - Autumn
(Sulmona - Cocullo - Pescasseroli - Opi - Villetta Barrea - Scanno -
Sulmona)
The trip begins in Sulmona (403 mts above
sea-level), a town situated in the heart of
the Peligna valley. The town, which is well-known as the birthplace of Ovidio, the poet of
love, is known nowadays as being the land of confetti (there is also a museum of
confetti). Its many fine monuments date back, mostly, to the economic and cultural heyday
of the town, during the XIV and XV centuries The Natural History Museum of the Mountain
Community, with its entomological section containing almost 7,000 examples of local
insects, is worth a visit.
The
next stop is the town of the snake-catchers, Cocullo, whose residents have combined the
millenary Marsican traditions with the Christian devotion to S. Domenico. From here the
trip continues on the provincial road to Ortona dei Marsi, going through a karst
depression area. Then it reaches Bisegna passing through the lovely Giovenco
valley, and
from here it ends up in the heart of the National-Park, i.e. the town of
Pescasseroli.
Still proceeding along the Sangro valley, the tour touches Opi and afterwards the town of
Villetta Barrea, whose artificial lake hears the same name. The tour starts back from the
lake of Barrea and, following the S.S. (State road) n. 479, it climbs the -mountains
through the woods of Scalone up to the pass of Monte Godi and then it descends to the town
and lake of Scanno.
Here it is worth making a stop and taking a walk in the narrow
streets, many
of which contain the typical fights of steps. In this way you can admire the
characteristic women's clothes of oriental origin that some elcerly women still wear,
especially of holiday. And you can also do some shopping in the goldsmith's
shops. After
leaving Scanno, the tazir goes through Villalago and, at the end of the Sagittario
Valley,
Anversa degli Abruzzi, the town where D'Annunzio's play "La fiaccola sotto il
moggio" is set. After driving 20 more kilometres the trip ends back in Sulmona.
begins in Sulmona (403 mts above
sea-level), a town situated in the heart of
the Peligna valley. The town, which is well-known as the birthplace of Ovidio, the poet of
love, is known nowadays as being the land of confetti (there is also a museum of
confetti). Its many fine monuments date back, mostly, to the economic and cultural heyday
of the town, during the XIV and XV centuries The Natural History Museum of the Mountain
Community, with its entomological section containing almost 7,000 examples of local
insects, is worth a visit.
narrow
streets, many
of which contain the typical fights of steps. In this way you can admire the
characteristic women's clothes of oriental origin that some elcerly women still wear,
especially of holiday. And you can also do some shopping in the goldsmith's
shops. After
leaving Scanno, the tazir goes through Villalago and, at the end of the Sagittario
Valley,
Anversa degli Abruzzi, the town where D'Annunzio's play "La fiaccola sotto il
moggio" is set. After driving 20 more kilometres the trip ends back in Sulmona.