Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo – Villa Frigerj
Abruzzo
Housed in a neoclassical villa in the Villa Comunale park, Abruzzo's best archaeological museum displays a comprehensive collection of local finds,…
Must-see attractions in Abruzzo
Eremo di Sant’Onofrio al Morrone
Abruzzo
This cliff-clinging hermitage with its 15th-century ceiling, 13th-century frescoes, narrow oratory and arched porticoes cowers under a massive rock face…
Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio
Abruzzo
With its distinctive chequerboard facade and strong links to Italy’s much admired hermit-pope Celestino V (whose remains are interred inside), the 12th…
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Abruzzo
The large town square is home to Sulmona's extensive Wednesday and Saturday morning market: you'll find fresh fish, veg, fruit and flowers, as well as the…
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Abruzzo
The Renaissance Palazzo d’Avalos houses a quartet of museums: the Museo Archeologico, with its eclectic collection of ancient bronzes, glasswork and…
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Abbazia di Santo Spirito Al Morrone
Abruzzo
It’s hard to miss this massive 13th-century Celestine abbey in Badia, close to the sheer western slopes of the Morrone mountains. Notable for its…
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Museo Casa Natale Gabriele D'Annunzio
Pescara
The birthplace of controversial proto-fascist poet Gabriele D'Annunzio is small but excellently curated, with nine rooms displaying furniture, documents,…
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Abruzzo
Built in the 1930s, the Campo Imperatore is the hotel where Mussolini was briefly imprisoned in 1943, before his dramatic rescue by German paratroopers…
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Abruzzo
The defining symbol of Pacentro, this unusual castle with its three oversized towers guards the foothills of Monte Morrone and is visible for miles around…
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Abruzzo
Inside the Palazzo dell'Annunziata is the four-in-one Museo Civico, with sections dedicated to archaeology, religious art, Abruzzese-Molisiano culture and…
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Abruzzo
L’Aquila’s valuable collection of art, sculpture and archaeology, previously housed in the San Giorgio castle, was mostly rescued after the 2009…
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Abruzzo
Sitting below the Sant’Onofrio hermitage, this sanctuary was originally thought to be the house of Sulmona-born poet Ovid when it was first uncovered in…
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Abruzzo
More a promenade than a loggia (a walkway with columns and arches), this spectacular path tracks the edge of Vasto’s old town for 300m from the Palazzo d…
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Abruzzo
A marvel of post-earthquake restoration, the 15th-century San Bernardino gleams like a salvaged Titanic brought to the surface to sail once more. Position…
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Pescara
An extensive (if slightly dated) display of Abruzzo culture that squeezes rather a lot into 13 interconnecting rooms, covering the Bronze Age to the…
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Riserva Naturale di Punta Aderci
Abruzzo
The Riserva Naturale di Punta Aderci is a 285-hectare area of unspoilt, rocky coastline north of Vasto. Sheltering both farms and woodland, the eponymous…
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Abruzzo
This museum and info centre has an impressive amount of information (in Italian only) on the Appenine wolf and its role in myth and literature. There's…
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Abruzzo
Slightly out of the centre, the Gothic-meets-baroque cathedral is like many things in Sulmona: understated and underrated. The fantastically restored…
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Centro di Visita di Pescasseroli
Abruzzo
The Centro di Visita di Pescasseroli has an Apennine garden and a clinic for rescued animals who can no longer live in the wild on their own. Accommodated…
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Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo – La Civitella
Abruzzo
'La Civitella' is more modern than its museum twin across the road. It curls around a Roman amphitheatre built at the city's highest point in the 1st…
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Pescara
Surely one of the most attractive modern bridges in Italy, this sweeping curvaceous structure was built in 2009 to carry bikes and pedestrians across the…
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Abruzzo
The Palazzo Fanzago was designed by the great baroque architect Cosimo Fanzago in 1624. Look out for the carved wooden dragons under the roof and the…
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Collegiata di Santa Maria del Colle
Abruzzo
Rebuilt in the decades following a 1456 earthquake, the atmospheric Collegiata di Santa Maria del Colle combines a superb Romanesque portal with a lavish…
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Abruzzo
This museum is housed in the Fabbrica Confetti Pelino (established 1783), Sulmona's most famous manufacturer of confetti (the confectionery product, as…
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Collegiata di Santa Maria Maggiore
Abruzzo
In Guardiagrele's compact centro storico (historic centre), this striking church features a 14th-century arched portico and an austere Romanesque facade…
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Museo d'Arte Moderna Vittoria Colonna
Pescara
In a country as art-heavy as Italy, this small, not particularly attractive building close to the seafront isn't what you'd call a big hitter, although it…
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Centro Visite Museo Terre della Baronia
Abruzzo
The main visitor centre for the Gran Sasso national park also houses the Museo Terre della Baronia, a museum that showcases the environment, history and…
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Abruzzo
On Piazza Garibaldi, housed in the refectory of the former Santa Chiara convent, this small museum has an eclectic collection of religious and…
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Abruzzo
L'Aquila's erroneously named 'fountain of 99 spouts' (there are actually only 93 of them) was one of the few monuments to quickly reopen after the…
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Abruzzo
The facade is a lovely low-key example of 13th-century Romanesque architecture that has survived several attacks, most notably by the Turks in 1566. The…
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Abruzzo
This small wildlife sanctuary is devoted to the Apennine chamois. There's a viewpoint from which you can usually see the animals roaming.
