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Hi,  here is quick rundown of some of the festivals that take place in Abruzzo, I’ll do June onwards in later posts.  Please notes any dates/venues given are as accurate as possible but it is always better to check locall/with the local tourist office to avoid disappointment.

JANUARY

Feast of St Anthony: This annual festival concludes with bonfires and fireworks on  16th January in the village of Fara Filorum Petri, and celibrates the legend of how St Anthony turned an oak wood into defending troops and saved the village from the invading French army in 1799. Chieti province.

MARCH/APRIL

Easter is celebrated in many of the towns and villages of the Abruzzo region, here are a few of them

Procession of the Dead Christ:  This takes place on Good Friday and starts at the cathedral of San Giustino in the town of Chieti.  As befitting this is a solemn event with musicians and lanterns winding their way through the streets of Chieti, I attended this a few weeks ago and it was brilliant (see picture below), but arrive early, as there are thousands of people who attend this event.  Chieti province.

I Talami : A procession and performance of biblical scenes that takes place in the village of Orsogna over the Easter period. Chieti province.

The Running Madonna: Sulmona religious festival celebrating the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, concluding in a statue of the Madonna ‘running’ to meet the newly risen Christ on Easter Sunday. L’Aquila province.

MAY

Snake festival: Taking place in Cocullo this festival takes place every year usually on the first Thursday in May. The highlight of the festival is when a statue of the town’s patron saint, San Dominico, is paraded through the village draped with snakes. L’Aquila province.

Daffodil Festival: This pagan inspired spring festival that takes place in Rocca di Mezzo on the last Sunday in May. L’Aquila province.

Festival of the Madonna della Libera: This festival takes place in Pratola Peligna in early May, and includes 10 days of celebration, entertainment, music and food! Concluding with a spectacular firework display on the last Saturday of the festival. L’Aquila province

More to come next post…

Just outside of the town Vasto (near to the border with Molise), stands Aqualand.  Aqualand is the ideal place if you have kids with excess energy to burn off.  This enormous aqua park features hundreds of metres of scream-generating slides, along with the obligatory lazy river for those of a more sedate nature.  It also features a wave pool, baby pool, hydro massage pool, volleyball, basketball, and when we visited last summer, two massage ’tents’, a yoga class and variety shows throughout the day.  There are of course restaurants and take-away bars for a variety of food and drinks.   For an entire day of fun with the children – well worth a visit.  For further information visit:  www.aqualandvasto.com

Monarch are currently offering £10 off return flight bookings (ZB flights only).  Code to enter is:  WARMUP and is valid for travel until the 31st May 2012.  See terms and conditions below.

Discount Code is only valid on new bookings, cannot be applied to existing bookings and is not valid if flights are subsequently changed. Valid on ZB flights only. Only one Discount Code can be redeemed per booking. Discount appears as an extra fare discount in running total and total saved amount. To redeem Discount Code enter it in the box on the payment page.

The most useful airports for Abruzzo are Rome and Pescara (on the Adriatic coast), the only limitation with Pescara is that the airport is quite small and at the present time the only airline that has direct flights from the UK into it is Ryanair.  There are more options to fly into one the Rome Airports (Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport or Ciampino Airport) – several airlines fly into these airports from the UK, including British Airways (for those requiring a bit more of a comfortable journey, and actually competing on occasions with the budget airlines!), Easyjet,  Alitalia,  Jet2 (for those wishing to fly from the north of Britain), and Monarch from Birmingham and Luton.

Both Rome airports are close to the Grande Raccordo Anulare (the ring road circling Rome) for easy access if you are travelling to Abruzzo by car. Both Airports also offer easy tranportation into Rome where you can catch train or bus connections to Abruzzo, more on that in later posts.

National Parks

Abruzzo is rich in national and regional parks, these protected areas are the habitat of many rare flora and fauna including the chamois antelopes, Apennine wolf and Marsican bear. Here are some of the major parks:

Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della (Gran Sasso National Park). Further info: http://www.gransassolagapark.it

Parco Naturale Regionale Sirente-Velino (Sirente Velino Regional Park). Further info: http://www.parks.it/parko.sirente.velino/

Parco Nationale d’Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise (The Abuzzo National Park, also Lazio and Molise. Further info:  www.parcoabruzzo.it

Parco Nazionale della Majella (Majella National Park). Further info: http://www.parcomajella.it/

Transport

Abruzzo can be reached by air directly into Pescara (from Stansted, UK – www.ryanair.com ) on the Adriatic coast, or by either of the two Rome airports from a variety of starting points in Europe and the States.

Once in Abruzzo the most convenient way to explore is by car, this ensures that you access all areas including the beautiful mountain villages. The A25/A24 autostrada that traverses Abruzzo is modern, kept in good repair and is generally light on traffic, the country and mountain roads vary in quality, so watch out for potholes.

If a car isn’t an option then there are regular trains from Rome and Pescara into the heart of Abruzzo. Several bus networks also traverse the region, but ensure you check locally when these arrive/depart, tickets are usually purchased at a nearby ‘tabacchi’, and don’t forget to validate them in the machine on the bus.

If, however, you do happen to get lost, the people of Abruzzo, who are invariably friendly and gracious, are sure to help you along your way.

Abruzzo: A Quick Guide

Abruzzo is one of the twenty regions of Italy and is located centrally, approximately 70 miles to the east of Rome. Its eastern border is curtailed by the Adriatic Sea, and if Italy is ‘boot-shaped’, then Abruzzo is located near the back of the ’knee’. The historic city of L’Aquila is the regional capital of Abruzzo.

The Abruzzo region is divided into four distinct provinces: L’Aquila, Teramo, Chieti and Pescara (the capitals of these provinces being the towns of the same names). These four provinces are further divided into 305 communes (or municipalities).

Given that the Apennine mountain range cuts through the heart of Abruzzo it is no surprise that nearly two thirds of the region is mountainous and encompasses the tallest peak of the Italian peninsula – Corno Grande at 2912m. The restless internal forces that that shaped the landscape of Abruzzo, remain restless and the region has suffered a number of major earthquakes over its history. This rugged landscape makes it a magnet for skiing, climbing and hiking enthusiasts. Sprinkled amongst the breathtaking hills and mountains of Abruzzo are dozens of medieval castles, ancient villages and monasteries.

Welcome to Abruzzo in Italy – the one-stop place for all things Abruzzese.  If you have visited Abruzzo in Italy before, welcome back – hope you like the new format, if you are new to Abruzzo in Italy – benvenuto!  Here you will find useful info for anyone wishing to visit this beautiful region of Italy or, indeed, anyone considering buying property in Abruzzo.  So bookmark this website, as we will be updating it regularly.