L'aquila
Chieti
Pescara
Teramo

Central Italy (est. pop. 1,300,000) 4,167 sq mi (10,793 sq km)

Abruzzi is breathtaking. High snowy mountain peaks and beautiful blue sea with sandy beaches. The region's coastal areas enjoy a mild climate and the mountainous inland area is snow-covered much of the winter and very hot in the summer.

Due to this hot and cold climate the geographical contrast shares two distinct cuisines: coastal and mountain. Although both are southern in style, coastal cuisine consists mostly of fish and mountain cuisine of pork, lamb and Porchetta (suckling pig) which is a specialty in the mountainous areas of Abruzzi, as is its prosciutto named Aquila.

Abruzzi was once a less prosperous region but now boasts a steadily growing economy. Agriculture is an important industry. By using available technology, small farms have become more efficient. The main crops are grapes, olives, wheat, sugar beets, saffron, and tobacco. Livestock includes pigs and sheep. Manufacturing in the area process food, textiles, clothing, and plastics. Tourism is the main importance for the area.

On the coast, the mild climate and rich soil supports a wide range of agriculture, including potatoes, wheat and corn, olives, grapes, oregano, and saffron. Although many consider Abruzzi's saffron--harvested near the capital of the region, Aquila to be the best in the world. Oddly enough diavolicchio (chili pepper) is used more seldom. Regarded as a healthy spice guaranteed to cure what ails you, no Abruzzi dish is complete without it.

As is characteristic of southern Italian cuisine, pasta is customary here. Abruzzi's culinary contribution to pasta was the invention of the chitarra, a guitar-like device made of wood and wire that makes thick, square-cut pasta. Because of the area's fine wheat and pure water, some of Italy's best commercial pasta is made in Abruzzi. Pecorino cheese is another of the region's favorite foods, as is the buffalo milk cheese spiced with chili pepper known as caciocavallo. The gutsy Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (made from the Montepulciano grape) is one of Abruzzi's most popular export wines, and affordable.

L'Aquila (1991 pop. 66,813)

It is an agricultural and industrial center, and a summer resort. A motorway that connects it with Rome is being extended to the Adriatic coast. Manufactures include building materials, machinery, and electronic equipment. L'Aquila is situated at the foot of the Gran Sasso d'Italia mountain group and is a popular base for mountain climbing.

ABRUZZO: A Guide to the Region

Chietia Altitude: 330 m a.s.l

Population: ca. 56000 inhabitants
Zip code: 66100
Phone Area Code: 0871
HOW TO REACH IT: road: s.s.n. 5; motorway: A25 exit Chieti

Chieti lies on a crest along the Pescara river with its unmistakable profile with the high belltower of San Giustino against the sky, a few km away from the Adriatic Sea, and with the Majella and Gran Sasso in the background. It was a Roman town, Teate, and and important medieval centre, that's why walking through the city you see Roman and medieval ruins side by side. Di rilievo sono le testimonianze Pretorotettoniche dell'Impero Romano, quali i ruderi del teatro, dell'anfiteatro, dei tre tempietti e delle terme; ben conservata è la colossale cisterna, un edificio costituito da nove vani sotterranei. Tra gli edifici medievali ricordiamo la Cattedrale di S. Giustino (XI secolo), più volte ristrutturata ed in parte ricostruita. Da visitare la Pinacoteca C. Barbella, che ospita opere d'arte (dipinti, sculture, mobili e maioliche) di artisti abruzzesi e non, e il Museo Archeologico Nazionale, uno dei più importanti e ricchi d'Abruzzo, che raccoglie sculture greche, materiale preistorico, rilievi e sculture romane; tra tutte queste opere, va segnalato il singolare Guerriero di Capestrano, opera italica del VI secolo a.C., uno dei simboli della regione.

Sights & Excursions
Cattedrale di S. Giustino, with a fina marble altar, paintings, frescoes, precious wooden furniture and the wonderful belltower
Chiesa di S. Francesco, with an original XII-century rosewindow and inside paintings by Giovanni Battista Spinelli and Ettore Graziani
Chiesa di S. Domenico (XVII century)
Chiesa di S. Chiara
Chiesa di S. Giovanni Battista, with Venetian paintings of the XVII century
Chiesa di S. Gaetano, with stucco decorations by Giambattista Gianni
Pinacoteca C. Barbella
Museo Archeologico Nazionale
Parco Nazionale della Maiella

Festivities
17 January: Festa di S. Antonio, con rappresentazione satirica delle tentazioni del Santo
Venredì Santo: Processione del Cristo Morto, una tra le più importanti e suggestive d'Abruzzo
8 Maggio: Festa di S. Giustino
26 July: Festa di S. Anna

Hotels and Restaurants
Hotel Dangiò
Grand Hotel Abruzzo
Hotel Garibaldi
Hotel Nuovo Albergo
Hotel Degli Amici
Agriturismo Il Carminillo
Agriturismo Il Quadrifoglio
Agriturismo Ranieri

Municipio, p. Vitt. Emanuele II, 66100 Chieti (CH) - tel. (+39) 0871 3411/560522

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Pescara Altitude: 4 m a.s.l

Population: ca. 150000 inhabitants
Zip code:
Phone Area Code: 085
HOW TO REACH IT: road: s.s. 16 Adriatica, s.s. 5 Tiburtina da Roma
motorway: A25 Torano-Pescara, A14

Pescara, con i suoi 150.000 inhabitants, è la maggiore città abruzzese: dinamica, attiva, ricca, è uno dei centri economici, commerciali e turistici più importanti di tutta la costa Adriatica. La sua spiaggia, senza soluzione di continuità, si estende per oltre venti chilometri, mentre il suo entroterra, nel corso degli anni, ha subito dei grossi mutamenti: oggi si parla infatti di un'unica grande area urbano-industriale, comprendente diversi comuni (tra gli altri, Pescara, Montesilavano, Chieti, Francavilla, Città S. Angelo, Spoltore), nella quale si addensano oltre quattrocentomila inhabitants, un terzo dell'intera popolazione abruzzese. A Pescara nacque Gabriele D'Annunzio, uno dei più grandi poeti che l'Italia abbia mai avuto.

History
Menzionata come Piscaria in documenti del XII secolo, la città sorse in parte sul luogo dell'antica Aternum, centro posto alla foce del fiume omonimo. Naturale scalo marittimo (nella tarda età repubblicana) dei Marrucini, dei Peligni e dei Saraceni, in età imperiale divenne il porto più importante della regione. Aternum venne però distrutta dai longobardi (600 d.C.), e da allora i tentativi per ricostruirla furono vani, e solo il porto manteneva una certa importanza. Nel 1927 vennero ridisegnati i confini delle vecchie circoscrizioni amministrative dell'area, e la vecchia Pescara (già provincia di Chieti) si fuse con Castellammare Adriatico (agglomerato di più contrade sorte sulla pianura lungo la vecchia strada ferrata), divenendo presto un importante centro balneare. La Seconda Guerra Mondiale inferse durissimi colpi alla giovane città, ma ciò non impedì a Pescara l'inizio di una portentosa crescita, che continua ancora oggi inarrestabile.

Sights & Excursions
Cattedrale di S. Cetteo, patrono della città, con uno splendido dipinto seicentesco del Guercino raffigurante S. Francesco d'Assisi e la tomba marmorea della madre di D'Annunzio
La casa natale di Gabriele D'Annunzio (XVIII secolo), restaurata negli anni Trenta
Museo delle Genti d'Abruzzo, che ripercorre la storia della regione dalla preistoria al XX secolo
Il Palazzo del Governo, che custodisce belle sculture dell'ortonese Costanzo e "La Figlia di Iorio", celebre tela di F.P. Michetti
Chiesa dello Spirito Santo
Chiesa di S. Andrea Apostolo
Varie opere dello scultore P. Cascella, tra le quali "La Nave", sul lungomare dinanzi Piazza Salotto
Museo Cascella
Museo Ittico

Festivities
Fine Maggio-inizio Giugno: Festa della Madonna dei Sette Dolori
July: Festival Internazionale del Jazz
July: Premio "Ennio Flaiano" (teatro, cinema, televisione, letteratura)
Ultima Domenica di July: Festa di S. Andrea Apostolo, con processione di motopescherecci in onore del Santo

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Teramo

Teramo is situated near the confluence of the Vezzole torrent with the Tordino River (that's why the Latin name of Interamnia, between rivers), and is a very old city, founded in pre-Roman time, though the general aspect is more recent, due to many XIX-XX century buildings. Since for a long time it was a border place between the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Church State, it acquired a really special identity and, because of the difficult communications with the other parts of the country, it stayed isolated for long periods of time. The Gran Sasso tunnel recently allowed Teramo to get out of its isolation. Two great monuments, not far away from each other, are almost the symbols of the town and its history: the majestic Cathedral, built in 1158 by Guido II, and the Roman theatre, built about 30 B.C., where still today sports and cultural events take place. The summer calendar of events is very rich with for example the Teramo Literary Prize and the Interamnia Handball Cup, an international event with athletes coming from all over the world. This town The economy of the town is mostly based on activities connected with agriculture and commerce, as well as a sound industrial sector: textiles, foods, engineering, building materials and ceramics.

Information:

Population: ca. 52000 inhabitants :
HOW TO REACH IT: motorway: A24 exit Villa Vomano
- bus, trains: from
- road: S.S. 80 da L'Aquila e Giulianova, S.S. 81 da Ascoli Piceno

History
Founded by the population of Prepuzi, the town was known in ancient times as 'Interamnia' (`between the rivers'). An important Municipium in Roman times, it rapidly declined after the fall of the Empire and, following Goth and Byzantine domination, became part of the territories of the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto. In 1156 it was put on fire by Norman Count Roberto di Loretello and then rebuilt thanks to Bishop Guido II. In the XIV and XV centuries it was plagued by feuds between local families which finally ended under the Aragonese dominion. It was united with Italy in 1860.After that it shared the fortunes of the Kingdom of Naples.

Sights & Excursions
Cathedral (12th-14th century) with inside a frontal by Nicola da Guardiagrele and 15th century polyptych
Remains of the Roman Amphitheatre and theatre (3rd-9th century), which could accomodate over three thousand people
Church of San Getulio, built in the early Middle Ages on the ruins of a Roman temple, finally destroyed in 1155 by the Normans; today only the presbyterium and some Romanesque elements can steill be seen of the old Pretorotecture.
Church of Sant'Antonio (13th century), previously San Francesco, with its fine Romanesque portal
church of Madonna delle Grazie (dating back to the 11th century)
church of San Domenico (14th century) with a fine Virgin with Child, probably by Gagliardelli
Archeological Museum with surrounding park
Chiesa di S. Agostino
Chiesa di S. Spirito
Chiesa di S. Benedetto, with fine paintings of the XVI-XVIII centuries
Casa Melatino
Palazzo Delfico
Chiesa della Madonna delle Grazie with a remarkable sculpture of the Virgin with child, probably by Silvestro dell'Aquila

Festivities
Late June: Feast of Madonna delle Grazie
Late July: "I Trionfi", a historical re-enactment with people in costume and allegorical waggons
Late July: Sagra of ham, cheese and "casereccio" bread

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