POSTCARDS FROM ABRUZZO

Turn back the wheels of time and plunge into Abruzzo’s glorious past on this full-day excursion to Pacentro and Pettorano sul Gizio, deservedly listed among the Borghi più belli d’Italia, the country’s most beautiful towns.

Your private chauffeur will meet you at your accommodation and drive you to Pacentro. A labyrinth of narrow streets and steep steps twists its way up the mountainside, overlooked by the medieval Caldora Castle and surrounded by the dense woods of the Majella National Park. Charming stone buildings still punctuate the skyline proclaiming the wealth and prestige of the noble families who erected them centuries ago. Indeed, although Pacentro may seem remote today, tucked away in a secluded area of Abruzzo, its once strategic location along a trading route, surveying the Peligna Valley, brought opulence to the town. Several powerful dynasties, such as the Orsinis, Colonnas and Barberinis, successively came into possession of Pacentro, attesting to the appeal this town must have exerted on yesteryear’s feudal lords.

Your private guide will be waiting at the meeting point ready to lead you on a tour of Pacentro while detailing the history of this lovely little borgo. You will hear about its legendary founding by Trojan hero Pacinus, discover how the town must have looked at the peak of its prosperity in the 18th century, and listen to the tragic fate it suffered after World War II, when a period of decline and impoverishment forced many of its inhabitants to migrate and seek their fortunes overseas.

Pacentro huddles around the main square, Piazza del Popolo, graced by a 17th century fountain and the 15th century Parish Church of Santa Maria della Misericordia with its characteristic bell tower. Noteworthy religious landmarks also include San Marcello, the oldest church in town, and the small church dedicated to the Madonna di Loreto. The latter is the protagonist of Pacentro’s most famous annual feast, the Gypsy Race, held on the first Sunday of September, during which the young men of the town run barefoot from the slopes of the Ardingo Hill to the church, as a tribute to the Virgin of Loreto. Among the sights to intrigue you on your walk about town are the canaje, an old basin where generations of women came to wash their clothes and linen, and the preta tonna, the stone of scandal where once, as a punishment, insolvent debtors were forced to sit naked, exposed to public mockery.

In the afternoon, after some free time for lunch, rejoin your guide and driver and head for the hilltop town of Pettorano sul Gizio. The 11th century Cantelmo Castle guards a delightful centro storico, with no building seemingly less than two hundred years old. Although the town dates back to the Middle Ages and beyond, a significant number of its ancient palazzi were destroyed after a devastating earthquake struck the area in 1706. Today Pettorano can be admired in its graceful 18th century appearance.

From the picture-postcard Piazza Zannelli, home to the Palazzo Ducale, now the town hall, follow your guide through the maze of winding alleys and sloping stairways on a quest for the town’s most striking architectural features and panoramic views. You will certainly come across the Parish Church of San Dionisio, the elaborate Baroque-style facade of Palazzo La Castaldina and the old city gates, miraculous survivors of the seism.

No visit to Pettorano would be complete without taking in the wonderful scenery of the surrounding valleys and mountains from the Belvedere Escher, named after the 20th century Dutch graphic artist and engraver who worked here in 1929-1930. It was from this very spot that Maurits Cornelis Escher observed and sketched the landscape later immortalised in his famous lithography Town in Southern Italy. Not to be missed are also the historic water mills, a precious example of industrial archaeology in Abruzzo, standing along the banks of the River Gizio, just outside Pettorano.

After the tour your private chauffeur will drive you back to your accommodation.