Molise
One of Molise’s hidden treasures, the Roman ruins of Saepinum are among the best preserved and least visited in the country. Unlike Pompeii and Ostia…
Must-see attractions in Abruzzo & Molise
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Molise
Built around the adjacent 730,000-year-old archaeological site of La Pineta, this intriguing museum stands next to a pavilion that protects the site of…
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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,…
Abbazia di San Vincenzo al Volturno
Molise
Founded in the 8th century, the Abbazia di San Vincenzo al Volturno is famous for its cycle of 9th-century frescoes by Epifanio (824–842) in the crypt…
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
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
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
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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Marinelli Pontificia Fonderia di Campane
Molise
Only in the Italian backwater of Molise do you get to learn about the ancient, if esoteric, art of bell-making. For more than 1000 years, local artisans…
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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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Samnite Theatre-Temple Complex
Molise
About 30km northeast of Isernia, outside Pietrabbondante, the remains of a 3rd-century-BC Samnite theatre-temple complex reward a visit, as much as…
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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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Molise
World War II doesn’t get a lot of coverage in Italy, which makes this small museum chronicling the events of 10 September 1943, when Isernia was heavily…
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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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Molise
Samnite ceramics found in Castello Monforte are now on show at the small Museo Sannitico, along with weapons, armour and sculptures from local…
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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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Termoli
Termoli’s most famous landmark, Frederick II’s 13th-century Castello Svevo guards the entry to the tiny borgo (medieval hamlet). It isn't open on a…
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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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Cattedrale di Santa Maria della Purificazione
Termoli
Termoli's majestic 12th-century cathedral is a masterpiece of Puglian-Romanesque architecture. The cream-coloured facade features a striking round-arched…
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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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Molise
At the top of a steep tree-lined avenue sits this squat, quadrangular tower, much of which was built in the 15th and 16th centuries after the original…
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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…
