Navelli... A medieval hill town in Abruzzo

When you tap into Trip Advisor to book hotels or look for restaurants, you never quite know what you are getting into. It is always akin to a flying leap off a cliff....with a few safeguards built in. This is what I did many months ago when I planned this explore in Abruzzo and booked the hotels we have been staying in over the past few days. Yes, I do read the reviews carefully and make my decision based on what other people say. So far we have lucked out and stayed at reasonably priced, clean, friendly and great albergos. These albergos are little hotels and usually family owned. Today we left the Adriatic behind and headed toward the interior...destination:.... Navelli, a small medieval hill town located in the mountains south of L'Aquila. L'Aquila is the heart of Abruzzo, if you are checking the location out on a map. This is what we saw from the state road.... A little village that stretched up a steep hill, crowned with a castello and church.

We had booked night in a B&B owned by an Irishman and his Italian wife. The reviews were fabulous and we weren't disappointed. Jimmy greeted us at the gate and made us feel oh,so very welcome. He is a story teller, friendly and welcoming. We passed personal info back and forth, learned each others "stories" and enjoyed a cold drink together. He and his wife have been married for 4 years and have been through two earthquakes together. Yes, this is an earthquake region. L'Aquila is still recovering from a major earthquake that happened three years ago. We spent late afternoon walking through the little village....up and up tiny, winding roads to the very top where there ia a beautiful old and empty palace/ castle. A few people are renovating houses and there are many elderly people still living in the houses where they were born.

 

 

After reaching the piazza at the very top of the town, we looked out over the plains below and the far away mountains. Navelli is the saffron capital of Italy. That means that the fields surrounding the town are covered with blooming crocuses in the spring... What a lovely vision.

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Ah ....the beach

We slept late this morning, after eating an incredible dinner in Sulmona, typical Abruzzo food and delicious local wine. Then left to find our way to Pescara and the small town of Montesilvano. Today we stayed off the autostrada and drove on local roads. Road signs are color coded here, green for the autostrada and blue for the state highways which go through little villages. So driving can be quite easy. Notice I say "can be" ......sometimes we take the wrong turn or get confused driving around the rotaries. It is always wise to just keep going around until you figure out which way to go. Driving on state roads, gives us a great opportunity to see little towns and local people. It amazes me that some of the houses and most of the towns have been here for hundreds and hundreds of years. So you might drive past a house that was built in, say....the 1100s. Often situated next to an apartment building built 5 years ago. We finally arrived at the sea.... The Adriatic Sea. Our hotel is one block from the beach. Each hotel has its own space on the beach where you pay a small fee for an umbrella, a chair and a lounge. You can take a hot or cold shower and use a very clean bathroom. The beach is packed with tourists but it doesn't feel anything like a crowded beach in New Jersey. People have their own space and are very resepectful. It is lovely and the water, a beautiful aqua color.

Later in the afternoon, people go to one of the many bars along the beach and have an apertivo.....or drink and snack. This little snack tides you over to dinner around 8pm when the restaurants open.

Tomorrow we head back toward Rome. This time our route will take us up into the mountains where we will stay in a little B&B in Navalli. The owners are a couple ....the man is Irish and his wife is Italian. It should be interesting and fun!

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Doors and Confetti in Sulmona

 We left Rome in a sweltering heat wave and drove east towards the region called Abruzzo. The autostrada wound up through the foothills and continued to ascend higher and higher. We drove through tunnels and looked out over steep dropoffs and at far away villages atop mountains. The mountains reminded us of parts of Montana, wooded but arid, treelines visible at the higher levels and far below, valleys. It is a beautiful but rugged region. Sulmona was our destination. Believe me, when I made reservations to stay in a little albergo in a small city called Sulmona, I had no idea what to expect. I only knew that there were several hotels and B&Bs and interestingly enough, it was the birthplace of Ovid. We arrived at 1:30 and found the city virtually empty, shops closed, no one about, a quiet small city. Then we remembered about Italian  "siesta". Literally everyone goes home for lunch and possibly a short nap, the shops close completely and the streets are empty. After checking into our hotel, we started walking. Yeaterday and today after traipsing all over Rome and walking all through Sulmona, I have major blisters and my feet are sore. But along the way we noticed all the many beautiful doors, many clearly dating way back when and others renovated and modernized. But each unique and exquisite. 

 This one opened into a small inside sanctuary with frescoes along the far wall. 

 

Some far older and more worn than others but no less beautiful.      Others opening into the far beyond.       

 So many of you might wonder what Sulmona is famous for in addition to being the birthplace of Ovid. As if Ovid was not enough....... It is certainly an ancient city, full of chiese( churches) and piazzas. Did you know that Italian Americans brought the custom of throwing confetti at weddings? And this little town of Sulmona is the heart of confetti making. Literally every other shop is a confetti shop, usually owned and run by a few generations of the same family.  This kind of confetti is not just little bits paper, but it is a colorful and delicious confection. We saw shops full of candy flowers and fruit, amazingly realistic and beautiful. 

 

 Tomorrow we are off to find the Adriatic Sea. We are looking forward to an afternoon at the beach.

Fountains and Ancient Heads

 Where else in the world can you find so many beautiful fountains........as well as a few classic body parts?

Today or tonight or whenever...., we arrived in Rome. We lost a night along the way and arrived early on Monday morning. Our bodies were screaming for a comfortable, dark bedroom, a soft bed.... But we knew, this would not help our jet lag.  So we set out to explore Rome and along the way, discovered lovely little piazzas, narrow winding streets and all around us the lovely language and delicious aromas of Italy. For more than two thousand years, Rome has had a system of aquaducts that supply fresh, cold water to countless fountains around the city. Imagine....in 98AD, Rome had nine major aquaducts that supplied 39 major fountains and some 600 water basins around the city. All of the aquaducts were destroyed during the fall of Rome but rebuilt during and after the 14th century. Most of these fountains are still in working order today. I have read that the water is safe to drink and you will see people still filling bottles at various water basins around the city. The Trevi Fountain is the most famous and therefore the most crowded.

But there are lovely fountains in most major piazzas. For example, above is the Fountain of the Tritans.

 We found lovely water basins, this one with a fresco of bees.

 What else to do on a sweltering day in Rome....

 

 

 And where else would you find a collection of ancient heads a top a garden wall.....

 

 Today we are off to explore the wild and remote region of Abruzzo, east of Rome and on to the Adriatic. We are anxious to see how wild it is compared to.....Wyoming or .....northern Montana or for that matter, northern Maine.