The Abruzzi and Apulia

If we go northwest from Campania we reach the regions of Abruzzi and Molise, which are often lumped together and called the Abruzzi. Although you might think this area should be part of northern Italy since it borders mostly on Latium, Umbria, and the Marches, the Abruzzi’s topography has made it exceptional. Although 75 percent of Italy is mountainous, no region we have visited thus far, except for a large part of the Veneto plus the Valle d’Aosta, has been so affected by its mountains. Italy’s highest peaks south of Milan are found in the Abruzzi, including the Gran Sasso d’Italia (Great Rock of Italy), which soars over 9,500 feet. The Abruzzi has a long coastline on the Adriatic, and the mountains come almost all the way to the shore, so that those arriving at ports such as Pescara find it difficult to venture inland. As a result, the Abruzzi has been difficult to penetrate for centuries, and few people have tried to do so. With this forbidding geography, the area was cut off from many of the cultural and political upheavals—and advancements—in the regions surrounding it.