Italy’s Abruzzo region, is one of the most unknown and undiscovered yet extraordinarily fascinating areas of the boot. The locals refer to it as the undiscovered "Tuscany" of 10 years ago. My husband and I chose this area to restore our Italian dream villa because we wanted an authentic experience. For us the areas of Tuscany, that are now swarming with tourists in the summer, defeat the purpose of experiencing something in Italy. When we dreamt of spending long lazy seasons in Italy, it was always with the vision of being immersed in the language, culture, beauty and food of the region.
This secret location is only 2 hours drive from Rome and sits 15 minutes from the stunning Apennine mountains and 15 minutes from the ocean. We can honestly say that we have been going to this region now for over 6 years and we have only seen two English speaking people and one american in that entire time. While this can make it somewhat challenging to communicate, the people are overly friendly and genuinely excited to try out their limited English skills on us and it forces us out of our comfort zone into a truly unique experience. Here, travellers can enjoy a slower-paced of life as they explore the unhurried towns, miles and miles of beautiful coastline, rugged mountains and delicious local cuisine
The Villa was built in 1850. It is in a little hamlet on the outskirts of Teramo. There are only about 150 people that live in this hamlet and no one really speaks English but their warmth and love makes up for it. We also have a housekeeper who comes to the house every day for two hours and cleans, washes and irons, makes beds, cleans bathrooms etc and keeps the home to a 5 star hotel standard. Our housekeeper can speak English and we can organise for this service for our guests for an additional fee if required.
Our little hamlet does not have a cafe but there is a restaurant at the bottom of the hill- and we walk there in the evenings as we consume way too much alcohol to drive home. In the mornings we walk through the field tracks to another close village called Torracella Sicura (2 km) for a coffee and croissant or you can easily drive into Teramo (5 min) where there are a huge range of coffee shops and restaurants.
Nearby is the Gran Sasso National park. It is a stunning and untouched place to explore and there are countless small hill top villages and picturesque places to explore in the park. Some of the secret places to eat and explore we have learnt only from the locals as there are very few “trip advisor” recommendations or traveller write ups from English speaking travellers.
We would seek to share all the amazing places to explore and eat with all our guests as this completes the wonder and mystery of the place . I can supply a full list of amazing out of the way small towns, old ruins, a picturesque places to explore if you would like. There are very few write ups on this area simply because it is undiscovered and that is the mystery and romance of the place. In the meantime to wet your appetite google search Ätri” “Pratti di Tivo” or “Sulmona”or Tortoreto Alto” "gran sasso" "silvi" to get a feel for things.
There are many more things to do locally
Explore local hill top towns (many unique places such as a remote town Mel Gibson filmed one of his latest films and a fort that is the home of Garibaldi’s last stand)
Visit a famous pottery making town where all the town is full of pottery artisans for thousands of years who open their galleries to explore
Visit ancient forts and castles in our local area
Drive into Rome and explore (1.30-2 hours drive)
Drive south to visit stunning Puglia (4 hours)
Drive to Naples and Pompei-3 hours
Umbria 2 hours
Marche- 1 hour drive where most of the luxury leather fashion shoe factories are and they sell to the public. I can give you a list to shop at ! wow sensational
Drive to Amalfi 3 hours
Drive to Assissi 2 hours
Drive to Florence 3 hours
Drive to local beaches- Silvi Marina (our favourite place is 30 min max)
Train to Milan, Florence or Venice 5 hours
Regional planes from local airport Pescara go to Sicily and Greece (very inexpensive)
Pescara where you can take the boat to Croatia 1 hour
Regional Planes from ciampino airport in Rome go to most regional places in Europe for a very cheap price. Last year we flew to Bordeaux in Southern France fr 80 euro return
Play Golf- Miglianico Golf and Country Club Miglianico Chieti (50 min)
