Imagine getting to know a village accompanied by a red carpet. It really happens! This happens in a small village in Abruzzo waiting to be explored
The pSpring is the season of colours, that of perfumes and the closer we get to summer the more we let ourselves be intoxicated by this magic and this atmosphere that smells of beauty, which arrives in the midst of its surprising wonder. This is the time to treat yourself to trips out of town, among the most beautiful villages in Italy where incredible shows take shape. It’s blooms to make it more colourful and our trips out of town are fun, those that give yellow and purple to the hills, red, orange to the wide valleys. Each region has its own flowering and each village is a perfect destination to experience and explore with camera in hand. In Central Italy it’s the spectacle sunflower yellowI can win over everyone, but it doesn’t remain indifferent flowering in the Castelluccio plain. In Abruzzo, however, the show is truly varied and truly unknown to many.
Abruzzo in spring: a show of colours
Abruzzo with its double essence mountain region with the majestic Gran Sasso and its park and with the blue of the Adriatic Sea It offers a truly spectacular setting in the summer and becomes an ideal destination for lovers of nature and villages. In this land that at times seems angular and arid the most beautiful paintings come to life. The wild flowers are the protagonists. The meadows are tinged with yellow and purple with the flowering of crocuses and daffodilswhile the hills are dressed in elegance with even the colors of wild orchidsAnd. Truly evocative shows that truly leave you speechless for their beauty. There is no shortage of it almond blossom in the Navelli plain which transforms the land into a white sea. Among all this color palette, there is a color that leaves most people indifferent and that is able to make a village unknown to most people one of the most instagrammable destinations in Italy. We’re talking about Red.
The Tirino Valley: the portion of Abruzzo that is tinged with red
We are in the Tirino Valley it is here that the valleys turn red, the poppies are the protagonists of this fairytale scenario. This portion of Abruzzo land is nestled between the turquoise blue of the Tirino river and the green of the countryside and woods. A valley to explore for those who love nature, but also for those who want to get to know small towns that are real gems where strength and tradition and flavor of Abruzzo. In spring there is one more reason to discover one of these villages, to be precise Capestrano, because it is precisely here that the most beautiful flowering of poppies occurs.
Borgo di Capestrano: a red carpet leads you to discover the wonder of the village rich in history
Capestrano it is a small village that dates back to 1200 and only became better known in the 15th century, when it became the property of Francesco I dei Medici to whom it was sold by the Piccolomini family who gave its name to the Castle which is still visible today. This village is famous for one thing poppies blooming, a red expanse that grows spontaneously on the fields and reaches the edges of the roads and enchants everyone. There wild beauty of poppy it is, after all, something that always enchants with its color and delicacy. The poppy that blooms here is commonly called the rosolaccio, the flower that has a bright and unmistakable red color of the flowers. It is they who will accompany you to discover Capestrano famous for the discovery of the “Warrior of Capestrano”, a statue found by chance in 1934 dating back to the mid-6th century. BC, which represents a male figure in military costume with a characteristic wide-brimmed headdress and today the symbol of the Gran Sasso National Park and the emblem of Abruzzo in the world. Today Capestrano It is striking for its splendid medieval layout, the Church of S. Pietro ad Oratorium is beautiful, renovated in 1100 and houses a majestic 12th century ciborium and a fresco depicting Christ with the 24 Evangelists. On the main facade, to the right of the entrance door, the famous is carved “magic square”. The magic picture is the ”The Sator square”: a recurring Latin inscription, composed of the following five words: SATOR, AREPO, TENET, OPERA, ROTAS which are all palindromic words, that is, which when read from any direction give rise to an identical sentence. The inscription whose meaning and symbolic meaning still remain obscure is truly curious and is found in several cities in Italy.
Capestrano: a village with authentic flavors of Abruzzo
Also Capestrano like all the villages of Abruzzo it stands out for its authentic food and wine. Its economy is based on pastoralism and agriculture, which sees the prevalent use of “poor” ingredients. The traditional recipes are cooked with the typical products that the land offers beans, wild spinach, spelled, grass peas, honey and sheep meatto get to the most valuable products, such as saffron, truffles and mushrooms. There is no shortage of cheese specialties where the undisputed protagonist is Pecorino.
