Gran Sasso & the Abruzzo Mountains

The highest peak in the Apennines rises above a plateau so vast and empty the Italians call it Little Tibet. Three national parks share this landscape — wolves still roam here, and so can you.

Hidden Villages of Abruzzo

These are the hilltop towns that did not make the guidebooks, where the bar opens when the owner feels like it and the church has been locked since 1987. borGO was built for exactly this kind of place.

The Trabocchi Coast

The trabocchi are ancient wooden fishing machines that cling to the Abruzzo coastline on long timber legs, and you can eat at most of them. Behind the shore runs one of Italy's most beautiful cycle paths, 42 kilometres with the Adriatic always on your left.

Abruzzo Food and Wine

Arrosticini are small skewers of lamb fat and muscle cooked over a long narrow grill called a furnacella, and once you understand them you will never want a barbecue any other way. The saffron from Navelli and the Montepulciano in your glass are both among the finest versions of their kind in the world.

 Outdoor Abruzzo

The Tirino is one of the clearest rivers in Europe and you can kayak the whole thing in a morning, watching trout hold position in water the colour of old glass. Above the valley the Gran Sasso and the Majella offer trails, climbs and via ferratas for every level of ambition.

Abruzzo Itineraries

If you have three days we can take you from the coast to the mountains and back through a medieval town without once touching a motorway. If you have seven, we will lose you in the good way.

 Culture and History

Abruzzo spent centuries being difficult to reach, which is why so much of it survived. Roman temples, Norman castles, a transhumance route that UNESCO recognised as world heritage and festivals that have not changed since the fifteenth century are all still here and still in use.