For the eighth appointment, the Appennino Festival returns to Abruzzo on Saturday 6 July at the foot of the Monti Gemelli, this time facing the Gran Sasso massif, in Valle Piola di Torricella Sicura in the province of Teramo.
The afternoon will begin with an excursion to Acquaratola and then on the way back a performance by Domenico Turchi with “I racconti di Vallonia” and to conclude the evening a concert by the band Burro e Salvia. In this stage we will live a unique experience, a journey through time through the history of an abandoned village that is being reborn thanks to the will of enhancement initiatives, to bring lovers of slow tourism to discover this side of the central Apennines.
This edition of the event is characterized by an “expansion” of its traditional boundaries, promoted by the Extraordinary Commissioner for Reconstruction and Repair of the 2016 Earthquake, Guido Castelli and by Bim Tronto. For the first time, in addition to the Marche, the Festival also involves Abruzzo, Lazio and Umbria together with the collaboration of Bim Vomano-Tordino Teramo, Bim Nera-Velino Cascia and
Bim Nera-Velino Rieti.
However, the objective remains unchanged: to create an event dedicated to wellness, sustainable and experiential. An event with a tourist and cultural vocation that unites, in a dense program of different events
activities: excursions, shows, performances, concerts, meetings, presentations and food and wine, promoting an experiential and accessible type of tourism.
The Extraordinary Commissioner for the 2016 earthquake, Guido Castelli, declared that “Torricella Sicura is an area on which the commissioner structure is paying the utmost attention. This is confirmed by the recent approval by the Services Conference of the extraordinary reconstruction plan of the Teramo municipality.
A significant intervention for the urban and social fabric of Torricella Sicura that not only allows for the recovery of the earthquake damage, but also for the improvement and enhancement of infrastructures and services such as schools, sports facilities and the multipurpose social center.
Fundamental places to keep the community fabric alive and cohesive. Another intervention that I would like to highlight is the one for the regeneration project of Villa Celommi-Capuani, for which we have increased the contribution to 1.4 million euros.
It is a reference point for Torricella Sicura which will thus be able to fully return to its function: an attractive place of memory and culture. A work of social and economic repair, just like the Festival dell’Appennino, which fits right into this strategy of valorizing the beauty, history and traditions of our territories through cultural and nature activities. An event that wants to contribute to making the central Apennines better known, and to encourage its tourist use, made possible thanks to the commitment and collaboration of the four BIMs”.
The President of the BIM Vomano-Tordino Consortium of TeramoMarco Di Nicola said: “The appointment in Valle Piola, in the municipality of Torricella Sicura, is the second stage of the Festival dell’Appennino in Teramo and Abruzzo, which is particularly significant for us because it is set in a once abandoned village, which has been the subject of significant restoration and enhancement work. The Festival dell’Appennino, in this sense, is an important cultural vehicle to combat depopulation and promote knowledge of the territories on which our identity is based.
The BIM Consortium of Teramo wanted to be an active part of this initiative in synergy with the other BIMs of central Italy, because reconstruction is not only a material process but also and above all passes through the cultural and social regeneration of our internal areas.”
The meeting is at 3:45 pm in Valle Piola, to then leave for the excursion at 4 pm. IMPORTANT: to reach Valle Piola for those coming from Piceno Aprutina do not follow the directions on Google Maps. Get to the roundabout before Teramo, on the Vezzola bridge and turn right towards Castagneto.
From Castagneto follow the Festival dell’Appennino arrows for Pastignano, then Poggio Valle and Valle Piola, the last three km are on a dirt road.
The excursion with departure and return to Valle Piola, has a difficulty E (Hiking for everyone) and is 5.4 km long, with a difference in altitude of 185 meters and a travel time of approximately 2 hours and a half (round trip).
