ABRUZZO & MOLISE PROVINCES
Bisected by the rugged Apennines mountains, these two provinces are rarely on the tourist radar. A major national park-building effort in the 1990s created an almost unbroken string of 4 parks. Amidst them are many picturesque mountain villages, farms, sheep, and birds. Natural attractions with hiking are the main draw. There are at least 9 major ski resorts.
During WWII, after the Italian government surrendered in September 1943, the guards at a notorious POW camp (fences and watchtowers sit above the village of Forte d’Amore) deserted but were quickly replaced by German soldiers invading from the north. Many POWs escaped and the route they used to reach the coast has been resurrected as a 60km hiking trail.
I travelled along the coast stopping in Termoli and Pescara, the main city.
Sulmona. The city of 25,000 sits on a plateau in the middle of 3 national parks and is a base for exploration.
L’Aquila. In 2009, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake killed 309 people and made 65,000 homeless. 485 buildings were destroyed and rebuilding is estimated to cost 600 million€. The basilica has been rebuilt for a second time after an earthquake in 1703.
Isernia. In Molise Province, the main attraction is La Pineta, a 700,000-year-old village unearthed by road workers in 1979. The town itself has little of its Centro Storico remaining. It has tentative Unesco status.
Albanian towns. Three villages south of Termoli in Molise are well known for their no-holds-barred chariot races pulled by bulls held in early May.
Pescara (pop 124,000). This is a heavily developed seaside resort and marina. It was heavily bombed in WWII and the city center was reduced to rubble. There is a lively seafront with 16 km of sandy beaches.
Museo delle Genti d’Abruzzo. Illustrates Abruzzo peasant culture. The museum supplied an audio guide that was very detailed in this excellent museum. 3€ reduced.
Ponte del Mare. A fantastic curving bridge that is 50m high and 466m long. The bridge was built in 2009.
LE MARCHE PROVINCE.
On the Adriatic and bordered inland by the pretty Apennines. Le Marche is one of Italy’s least-known treasures.
Historically, they were dominated by the Romans for 700 years, then sacked by the Goths, Vandals, Ostrogoths, and finally, the Lombards. Charlemagne finally ousted the Lombards and in 800, Pope Leo III crowned him Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. After he died, central Italy entered centuries of war, anarchy, and the Dark Ages until the Guelphs won and the area became one of the Papal States. It stayed that way until Italian unification in 1861.
ANCONA (pop 103,000). A gritty port town and capital of the province, the old town is quite pretty. Just south is Parco del Conero with towering limestone cliffs rising out of the Adriatic to the 572m Monte Conero.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Marche. This museum has wonderful artifacts dating from the Paleolithic period to the Middle Ages. Some of the treasures are Etruscan and Celtic gold and the Venus of Frasassi, a statuette of a pregnant woman, 8.7cm tall, carved from Stalactite 28,000 years ago.
Sadly, there is little English here and there was no one to complain to as not one of the 7 staff members I encountered understood one word.
Mole Vanvitelliana. Originally a 1700s fort, it is now a cultural center. It is surrounded by water and sits in the bay.
URBINO (pop 15,500). The entire city center was declared a Unesco site in 1996, and it is a beauty all in uniform brick and cobble. The Montefeltro family created an art scene in the 15th century, gathering all the great artists, architects, and scholars of his day. Raphael was born here.
I arrived in the evening in this vibrant university town and walked up the steep main street, poked around, and ate at Café Central, the main hangout for university students. The streets outside the bars were thronged – all drinking wine and no smoking.
Palazzo Ducale. A microcosm of Renaissance architecture, art, and history, it contains the Galleria Nazionale dell Marche with works by Raphael, Titian, and Signorelli. This is a huge palace with palatial rooms and fireplaces. Of the hundreds of paintings, half were of the Madonna and Bambino and a quarter was of Christ on the cross. I was most impressed with the wood inlays on all the doors and in Federico de Montefeltro’s dressing room.
Duoma di Urbino. It contains Federico Barocci’s Last Supper and Bologna’s Madonna Breastfeeding. For some reason, it was closed on the day I was there.
