Spoltore (PE) Abruzzo: Saint Patrick’s Day (afternoon)

Still in Spoltore and feeling a bit peckish we looked for a place to have lunch. Local knowledge is always a great help so P asked a butcher and he pointed us to Les Arcs at Via G. Fonzi, 139, the main road through the town.

We were definitely the only tourists in Les Arcs. In fact most of its clients that day appeared to be construction workers having their well earned lunch. We went for the ravioli with ricotta and waited patiently. There were a few orders ahead of us, but when it arrived it was very tasty. For €6 each we were suitably fortified and ready to go exploring.

Spoltore is about 8 km from Pescara, located between the rivers Tavo and Pescara.

There are five important historical buildings there:

• The ruins of the castle in the highest part of the old centre
• The parish church of S. Panfilo, with a fine portal and stuccos by Alessandro Terzani, canvases by Giuseppangelo Ronzi and a 16th century statue of the Madonna col Bambino.
• The church of Madonna della Porta, with a wooden statue of the Virgin (10th century)
• The convent of San Francesco d’Assisi (15th century), with a brick facade and a fresco cycle telling the life of the saint
• The church of San Francesco d’Assisi, attached to the convent, mostly Baroque in style

Unfortunately all the churches were closed while I was there. But that was fine as what I really wanted to do was walk up to the highest point of the old town, beside the castle ruins, and take in the Majella (south), the Gran Sasso (west) and the Adriatic (east).

The pictures below give a flavour of what Spoltore has to offer.

When we reached the highest point we found an abandoned 5l bottle of wine. I could easily see friends relaxing and chatting, sipping a glass of wine, watching the sun go down. Then, when it gets dark, looking at the stars, constellation spotting or maybe turning their attention to the bright lights of Pescara.

Although it was a bit hazy, we stayed quite a while looking out at the wonderful views.

On the way back down we met Alberto, who was stripping the paint off some wooden shutters. We stopped, said hello, and he kindly allowed me to take his picture. Stripping the paint of wooden shutters looked to me like a long and painstaking task but Alberto seemed to be enjoying himself in the afternoon sun. We actually had a brief conversation about Dante Alighieri, Verdi and the relative merits of the English and Italian languages. I was well out of my depth! 

I’ll be visiting Spoltore again. I’ve three good reasons for doing so:

• see the inside of the churches that unfortunately were closed
• see the fantastic views on a day that isn’t so hazy
• pop in to Almond 22 and pick up a couple of bottles of really good beer

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