Pescasseroli

Two weekends ago we went to Pescasseroli, a small town south of L'Aquila and located in the National Park of the Abruzzo. The National Park of the Abruzzo is one of the best preserved nature areas in Italy. It is filled with roads that lead from one scenic view to another. To a degree the roads are much like driving on the high corniche of the riviera but with land views instead of the sea. Pescasseroli has been gentrified and is touristy but with some taste and style. It serves as a center for mountain hiking, mountain climbing and nordic and alpine skiing.

The town is a very pleasant place to walk around and all of the surrounding area has some natural thing of interest. The town is filled with shops that offer fresh local food and artisan quality goods ranging from clothes to art to useful tools for mountain climbing. Most of the trees in the area are conifers but there is a sprinkling of other types particularly in the city. The national park acts as a refuge for endangered species; particularly, the Appenine bear, wolves and chamoix. The Appenine bear is sort of a very small, and genetically distinct, version of the American brown bear found in the Smoky Mountains but is shy and avoids contact with humans if possible.

While the real beauty of the national park is to walk or climb in it; the drive through it is a pleasure if you enjoy small mountains roads. The well maintained roads are long and winding with many hairpin turns and scenic views. Visitors with cameras are a more common site than the natural animals.

On the way back we stopped at a roadhouse (La Fattoria) (literally: the farm) outside of Roccaraso that from the road appeared to be a very simple trottaria or osteria. I hoped to find a classic trattoria serving excellent home made food with simple surroundings. Much to our surprise when we entered this very outwardly simple looking restaurant we found a beautifully decorated and semi-elegant place with a great and sophisticated menu. (These same family runs another very nice restaurant in a nearby town and its name would translate to "The Shack.") Apparently they cater to the visiting skiing crowd who made some of the customers but they also had some hikers and some very well dressed customers. We felt quite at ease and had an extremely nice meal.

If you come to Italy and have an extra day, a trip to the National Park of the Abruzzo and to Pescasseroli is well worth your time. It is truly Italy off the beaten track. There are virtually no American tourists here but many European tourists. Not to say there are no Americans in the area, a large group of American retirees have purchased homes and live in Sulmona, another city in the park area.