Cocullo is a small, picturesque village located in the heart of the Apennine Mountains in the L’Aquila province of Abruzzo. Usually, life goes on quietly, following the gentle and ancient rhythm of nature all year, but things get more exciting every May, when Cocullo’s famous Festa dei Serpari, or feast of the snake handlers, takes place. The vil...
READ MOREAlong Italy’s Adriatic coast, you’ll find a unique seaside construction, the trabocchi (or trabucchi): they are a traditional type of fishing machine, popular in the regions of Molise, Puglia, and especially Abruzzo, specifically along the Costa dei Trabocchi, a stretch of coastline between Ortona and Vasto. These traditional fishing machines are p...
READ MOREMichele Leone was born on June 8, 1909, to Giovanni and Anna Leone in Pettorano sul Gizio, (population 1,376 in the 2015 Census) which is a town along the Gizio River just south of Sulmona in the province of L’Aquila in the region of Abruzzo. Despite his parents’ disapproval, he began wrestling at an early age under the tutelage of his uncle, Miche...
READ MORESeeing that we’re creeping into May after this weekend I’m going to get a head start into my features for the month of May which is covering the wines of Abruzzo and Marche wine regions. This week I’m starting with the wines known as Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo and will feature a Cerasuolo from Cantina Tollo in Abruzzo. Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is is one of Ita...
READ MOREIn Abruzzo, Italy, lies a small village by the name of Anversa degli Abruzzi. And when I say small, I mean it—just over 300 people inhabit the mountainside town overlooking the Saggitario Gorge. Livestock roams in the mountains of this eye-catching denomination. A family in this village—the Marcellis—herd sheep and goats for the purpose of making...
READ MOREThe picturesque small town of Roccaraso is located in the province of L’Aquila. It has approximately 1,524 inhabitants, known as Roccolani. The town, in the Alto Sangro ski area, is the largest ski resort in the central Apennines, 195 kilometers from Rome. It is among the most renowned mountain resorts in central and southern Italy, and it offers t...
READ MORESnakes evoke an almost universal awe—a mix of mesmerizing enchantment, visceral repulsion, and morbid fascination. Throughout the millennia cultures have attributed supernatural properties to serpents and devised complex ophidian cults to honor them. There was a time when snake rituals were common across Europe, but now they have mostly disappeared...
READ MOREWe’re passionate about sustainable travel in Italy… and what better place to travel green than in Abruzzo, Italy’s “greenest” region? Filled with miles of unspoiled parks and countryside, the southern region of Abruzzo offers tons of green travel options. And, of course, green travel isn’t just about reducing the carbon footprint while on vacation—...
READ MOREAn exhilarating and timeless tale set in the majestic mountains of Abruzzo! The legend of Majella is surely one of the most fascinating stories of the region. Legend has it that Maja, the most beautiful of the Pleiades, the celestial and mountain nymphs, fled Phrygia in a desperate attempt to save her one and only beloved son Hermes, a huge giant w...
READ MOREThe Botanical Garden of Collemaggio is located near the church with the same name, on the outskirts of the city of L'Aquila. Originally, the garden was used by the Celestinian monks who lived in the basilica, and then in in 1965 it began property of the Faculty of Mathematical, Chemical, Physical and Natural Sciences of the University of L'Aquila....
READ MORE