About Abruzzo

Tagged: San Giovanni in Venere

Rigging of trabocco and sea beyond 1

Province of Chieti / The Coast

An Evening on the Trabocchi Coast

Fruit always tastes better when it’s stolen.  I don’t know who said that but I know of no reason to doubt it. Which is why I find myself ducking under the fruit-laden boughs of a fig tree on a warm evening in late summer.  Forbidden Fruit The figs are the ‘white’ variety as opposed to the plump ‘black’ or wine-coloured fruit of late season. Their skins, though, are green. They are also small and hard, a consequence, perhaps, of the recent drought. But when we peel back the skin the creamy fruit inside is pulpy and sweet. And very sticky. Luckily there is a tap nearby where we rinse...

Trabocco at sunset 3

Province of Chieti / The Coast

Wonders of the Trabocchi Coast

My Trabocchi Coast Itinerary …in which we reflect on a dark period in Abruzzo’s history but then experience the lightness of being with a refreshing swim and lunch, restore body and soul at one of the region’s most stunning sacred sites, and end up at a nudist beach, but with our costumes and modesty intact. Here is our typical itinerary, highlighting five wonders of the Trabocchi Coast. Moro River Canadian War Cemetery Yes, I know the Canadian War Cemetery is not right on the coast. Neither is it a typical highlight on a day trip to the seaside. But our road from the north brings us here and there...

Basilica 2

Treasures of Abruzzo

San Giovanni in Venere

After swimming, seafood and too much sun in San Vito, we are in need of repose and sustenance for the soul. We head for San Giovanni in Venere. On our short drive southwards down the Trabocchi Coast we catch glimpses of the bike path just below us, and beyond, the dazzling blue Adriatic. But just prior to the turnoff to the abbey before Fossacesia, the road dips and we pass wooded land where the forest has burned on both sides of the road. There is nothing left but charred tree stumps and blackened earth. An acrid smell still hangs in the air. Such sights are sadly not uncommon in...