ABRUZZI, Italy

REGIONAL CAPITAL: L’Aquila
PROVINCIAL CAPITALS: Chieti, Pescara, Teramo
OTHER INTERESTING PLACES : Sulmona , Cocullo , Scanno

TERRITORY : Abruzzo lies almost entirely along the Adriatic side of the peninsula and it is characterized by the presence of the largest and most complex group of the Appennine Mountains, among which are the highest peaks of the Gran Sasso . The wild beauty of the forests of the Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo are well known all over Italy.

PLACES TO SEE :
L’Aquila : the Castle ( Castello cinquecentesco ) within which is the Museo Nazionale d’Abruzzo ; the Basilica di San Bernardino ; the Basilica di S.Maria di Collemaggio ; the Casa Museo Signorini Corsi and the Fontana delle 99 Cannelle ( it is said that Emperor Fredrick III founded L’Aquila by drawing togheter the citizens of 99 vilages, so there are 99 churches, 99 piazzas-sqares- and this fountain with almost 99 spouts .
Sulmona : visit the whole medieval centre , Palazzo dell’Annunziata , the statue of the classical poet Ovid ( this was his birthplace ) , the Fontana del Vecchio and the medieval aqueduct , the Chiesa di S. Martino and the Museo dell’Arte Confettiera (Sulmona is famous for the confetti industry : the making of elaborate flower shaped arrangements of sugar almonds , a must at traditional Italian weddings and other festivities).
Chieti : the Museo Archeologico.

REGIONAL CUISINES : traditional local dishes are maccheroni alla chitarra , lamb either roasted or grilled and ,of course, confetti .

FOLKLORISTIC NEWS AND TRADITIONAL FESTIVITIES : in antiquity Abruzzo was famed for its witches , wizards and snake-charmers , members of a tribe called the Marsi. Even today snakes feature in a bizarre religious festival in the mountain village of Cocullo : on the first Thursday in May its inhabitants celebrate the feast of S. Domenico: a statue of the saint is draped with jewels and banknotes and festooned with live snakes . It’s borne in procession through the village accompanied by villagers also bedecked with wriggling reptiles (Processione dei Serpari ).

Abruzzo, Italy - map