Hotels to remember: Abruzzo and Molise

Abruzzo and Molise: a journey exploring a wonderfully diverse land of silent mountains, immense parks, long beaches, alpine lakes, picturesque little villages and small art cities. Hotels, tours, and inspirational travel ideas.

Incredibly diverse landscapes, from the soft sandy beaches of the Adriatic coast to the dizzying heights of the Gran Sasso, unite the small Italian regions of Abruzzo and Molise. The Abruzzi, as Abruzzo and Molise were known until 1963, is where to experience some of Italy's wildest countryside. These sparsely populated, earthquake-prone regions are predominantly mountainous and the highest areas are best explored using the ancient sheep-driving routes, or "tratturi". A trip to the mountain villages of Pescasseroli, Sulmona, Roccoraso, or Campitello Matese should include a dish of the local lamb. From here, the seafront towns of Termoli, Ortona, and Roseto degli Abruzzi, and the historic art cities of Pescara, Aquila, and Chieti, are, amazingly, only a few kilometers away.