Walking in Abruzzo. Stuart Haines
once you have arrived at your destination, getting to the start of walks by public transport is either a challenge (with a few noted exceptions) or impossible. Buses can be infrequent and not well timed for early starts or late, unpredictable finishes. A car is usually the only practical option. The major hire companies are at Pescara and Rome airports and the railway stations. Car hire is also available in L’Aquila, Avezzano and Sulmona. Rates are reasonable if booked in advance and offers are frequent.
Finally, Abruzzo is wonderful cycling country (mountain and road are equally good). If you take or hire a bike, depending on your base, it can solve the problem of reaching the start point.
Places to base yourself
There are excellent hotels, B&Bs and self-catering apartments throughout the region. A good start point is the regional tourist organisation’s website, www.abruzzoturismo.it. Useful sources for self-catering accommodation are www.holidaylettings.co.uk/abruzzo and www.tripadvisor.com.
Your choice of base will depend on whether you focus your trip on one or two of the parks or whether you intend to visit them all.
Sulmona (www.comune.sulmona.aq.it) is a fine town to stay in or near as it is centrally located between all four parks and is easy to reach. It is a beautiful old place that will keep you diverted on rest days as well as providing a good choice of restaurants, bars and places to sleep – new and traditional hotels, B&Bs and self-catering. Smaller towns in the Peligna basin are Popoli, Pratola and Raiano, and a number of beautiful villages lie around the edge of the basin, including Pacentro, Pettorano, Introdaqua, Bugnara, Anversa and Roccacasale.
If you intend to concentrate on the Gran Sasso and perhaps the Sirente-Velino parks, then L’Aquila (www.comune.laquila.it) is an obvious choice. Easy to reach, especially from Rome, it is a captivating and historic place. L’Aquila was badly affected by the earthquake of 2009, although services are now almost back to previous levels – and perhaps even better. Access to parts of the city may still be restricted, but the return of visitors is vital to its economic recovery.
There are many smaller towns in the north of Abruzzo that are good alternatives. Celano, Ovindoli and Rocca di Mezzo are well placed for the Sirente-Velino, while Teramo offers good access to the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga from the east. A number of villages within the Gran Sasso park have small hotels, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation and at least one restaurant. They include Santo Stefano, Calascio, Ofena and Castel del Monte in the south, and Pietracamela, Campotosto and Assergi in the north. Farindola offers access from the east. The villages of the Aterno valley between the Gran Sasso and the Sirente-Velino are also well situated – the main ones are San Demetrio, Fontecchio, Santa Maria del Ponte and Acciano.
If walking is to be centred on the Maiella National Park, then four small towns lying between the Amaro and Morrone massifs will each meet your needs. The largest, Caramanico Terme (www.comunecaramanicoterme.it), is an old spa town well served with accommodation and restaurants. To the north lies San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore, and to the south is Sant’Eufemia a Maiella. Furthest south is Campo di Giove. A number of small towns lie along the east flank of the Maiella, providing good access to the eastern gorges. They include Palena, Lama dei Peligni, Fara San Martino, Guardiagrele and Pretoro.
The end of the day at Rifugio Campitelli (Walk 24)
Within the Abruzzo National Park is the small town of Pescasseroli (www.comune.pescasseroli.aq.it). Its pretty centre and surrounding area offer many accommodation and eating possibilities. Other villages in the park with places to stay and eat are Barrea, Villetta Barrea, Civitella Alfedena and Opi. Just outside the park at its south eastern end is the small town of Alfedena. Castel di Sangro in the south of the region would be a good place to stay if you wanted to explore both the Abruzzo and the Maiella parks, as would the ski resort villages of Roccaraso, Rivisondoli and pretty Pescocostanzo.
Special mention needs to be made of the Italian institution that is Agriturismo – rural accommodation, often based on farms or smallholdings, offering meals made with the produce of the establishment or locale. Agriturismo is well established in Abruzzo and there are lovely places to stay. A good resource is www.agriturismo.it.
Campers are reasonably well provided for in Abruzzo. Most sites are traditional Italian style, with fixed pitches amongst camper vans, caravans and semi-permanent holiday huts, and are popular with large holidaying families. There are a few ‘wilder’ sites in the national parks. Good lists can be found at www.camping.it.
Finally there are a number of alpine-style mountain huts in the most popular higher areas. These can be special places to spend the night, and they allow an extended walk in remoter parts. They provide simple sleeping platforms (take your own bag), a cooked evening meal and breakfast. The CAI website (www.cai.it) has a full list (including unmanaged huts), as does the Abruzzo tourist organisation website and individual park websites. Worth particular mention are Rifugio Franchetti, Rifugio Duca degli Abruzzi and Rifugio Giuseppe Garibaldi in the Corno Grande massif, and Rifugio Sebastiani in the Velino.
Rifugio Garibaldi (Walk 16)
Daily essentials
Italy is one of the world’s most developed economies, and prices are similar to the rest of the Eurozone, the UK and North America. Some things, however, are typically cheaper – wine, coffee, dinner in a village restaurant, train tickets, shoes (you never know) and going to a football match.
Most shops and offices, including banks and post offices, are open from 8.30am to 1pm and then again from 3.30pm to 7pm. Even village cafés often close for lunch. Supermarkets, though, are increasingly open throughout the day. ATM machines are easily found in towns and quite often villages. They usually recognise foreign debit cards and will dispense euros. Credit cards are often not accepted by B&Bs and restaurants – keep topped up with cash.
Mobile phone coverage is good in Abruzzo, although you will be out of touch in the remoter valleys. There aren’t many public phone boxes – the telefonino (mobile phone) has become an essential. The internet, too, is just about everywhere. 4G data network coverage for smartphones is good and there are internet cafés in all of Abruzzo’s main towns. Wi-fi connections are usually available in hotels and B&Bs and can often be found in cafés. Some town centres, such as Sulmona, are covered by a municipal wi-fi network.
There isn’t a great deal of English spoken in Abruzzo, but someone can usually be found, particularly in a restaurant, hotel or even a mountain hut. You can enjoy a walking holiday with a basic grasp of Italian or none at all. In the summer there are more English speakers around – diaspora Italians visiting the home region. Don’t worry if you thought you had some Italian but still don’t understand – it’s the Abruzzo dialect. Speak Italian and people will switch. For a selected Italian-English glossary, see Appendix C.
Note that menus are rarely translated and sometimes don’t exist – the day’s dishes are listed by the waiter. But you can always manage, and unless you have a pretty restricted diet it can be fun.
Maps
There is no comprehensive mapping of Italy for walkers. Published maps of Abruzzo are patchy, both in coverage and quality, but the maps listed in the table below are recommended and cover most walks:
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