About Abruzzo

Monthly Archive: February 2022

Santo Spirito Hermitage 1

Mountains / Province of Pescara

The Hermitage of Santo Spirito

It’s ten kilometres to the Hermitage of Santo Spirito from Roccamorice.  The road takes us from the airy green foothills of the Maiella and plunges us deep under the leafy archways of an oak and beech forest.  Sunlight filters through the upper branches and spangles the road as we drive along.  The road ends in an open space and there, backed onto a rocky outcrop, is the Hermitage. Oh for the contemplative life. No wonder the poet Petrarca mentioned this place in his De Vita Solitaria as being conducive to asceticism. Even the most arid soul must surely be nourished by such beauty and silence  – silence, that is,...

cemetery 3

Province of Chieti / The Coast

The Canadian War Cemetery

A Grave Encounter I am fascinated by graveyards.  When I worked in an office in Edinburgh I used to eat my lunch in one.  In general they are peaceful, green places full of birdsong and rich in stories. And some headstones are small works of art. This interest of mine does not always go down well with Italians, who have a different perception of cemeteries. I found this out the hard way when, while poking around a graveyard on a trip to Scotland with Italian friends, I sat down on a bench and produced our picnic lunch. I can still recall the shock on their faces. War cemeteries have,...

Arrosticini 1

Cuisine

Arrosticini

Arguably the dish most associated with Abruzzo is arrosticini. Which is unfortunate for vegetarians. Simply put, arrosticini are barbecued pieces of mutton on slim wooden skewers. But those are just words. They fail to do justice to the time, effort, care and attention – not to mention the art and tradition – that go into their production. The first time I ever had arrosticini was on a raw winter’s day. We were on our way back from a day’s skiing at Passo Lanciano when we spied a vendor on a street corner cooking meat on a grill. Ours was the kind of gnawing hunger that comes after a day...

tomato sauce 0

Cuisine

Tomato sauce

Hitting the bottle 5am seems sbsurdly early to be starting the day, even at the height of summer.  And yet here we are, a little bleary eyed, on our way to do the ‘bottiglie’ – the bottles of tomato sauce which will keep us in good supply over the coming winter. The venue is the garden of my mother-in-law’s childhood home and much of the work has already been done.  A hundred bottles have been gathered and washed in the huge sink in the stone outbuilding. Materials for the fire have been assembled, and crates of tomatoes brought in from the family plot. We light the fire and fill...

silvi paese with outdoor tables 2

Province of Teramo / The Coast

A Tale of Two Silvi Part 2

Something is up. As we approach Silvi Paese late on a summer’s evening we can’t find a place to park. We drive upwards and down and roundabout and eventually squeeze into a slot half-way up the hill. Could it be, someone suggests, the Festa di Paese? Light streams from the open doors of the Church of San Salvatore but this is not unusual. On summer nights anyone can wander in from the street at any time to pray or just quietly sit.  As we near the Belvedere, it becomes clear there is an invasion afoot. What is curious is that the invaders of this normally rather staid village are...

Silvi Paese, house with sea beyond 2

Province of Teramo / The Coast

A Tale of Two Silvi, Part 1

There are some towns in Italy that I think of as having two souls. Like Silvi, for instance. Down at the shore is the high-spirited, slightly brash extrovert; overlooking it from the hill above its more reserved other half. This is a tale of two Silvi. Silvi Marina It is surprising how many Italians I have met from other regions who are familiar with Silvi Marina from their childhood. This is probably because its many attributes read like an advertisement for family holidays: reasonably priced accommodation, a summer programme of concerts and events, a plethora of restaurants and gelaterie, and a safe, sandy beach (one of the ‘seven sisters...