Must see attractions in Abruzzo & Molise

One of Molise’s hidden treasures, the Roman ruins of Saepinum are among the best preserved and least visited in the country. Unlike Pompeii and Ostia…

Built around the adjacent 730,000-year-old archaeological site of La Pineta, this intriguing museum stands next to a pavilion that protects the site of…

Housed in a neoclassical villa in the Villa Comunale park, Abruzzo's best archaeological museum displays a comprehensive collection of local finds,…

Founded in the 8th century, the Abbazia di San Vincenzo al Volturno is famous for its cycle of 9th-century frescoes by Epifanio (824–842) in the crypt…

This cliff-clinging hermitage with its 15th-century ceiling, 13th-century frescoes, narrow oratory and arched porticoes cowers under a massive rock face…

With its distinctive chequerboard facade and strong links to Italy’s much admired hermit-pope Celestino V (whose remains are interred inside), the 12th…

Sitting below the Sant’Onofrio hermitage, this sanctuary was originally thought to be the house of Sulmona-born poet Ovid when it was first uncovered in…

The large town square is home to Sulmona's extensive Wednesday and Saturday morning market: you'll find fresh fish, veg, fruit and flowers, as well as the…

The Renaissance Palazzo d’Avalos houses a quartet of museums: the Museo Archeologico, with its eclectic collection of ancient bronzes, glasswork and…

It’s hard to miss this massive 13th-century Celestine abbey in Badia, close to the sheer western slopes of the Morrone mountains. Notable for its…

The birthplace of controversial proto-fascist poet Gabriele D'Annunzio is small but excellently curated, with nine rooms displaying furniture, documents,…

Built in the 1930s, the Campo Imperatore is the hotel where Mussolini was briefly imprisoned in 1943, before his dramatic rescue by German paratroopers…

L’Aquila’s valuable collection of art, sculpture and archaeology, previously housed in the San Giorgio castle, was mostly rescued after the 2009…

More a promenade than a loggia (a walkway with columns and arches), this spectacular path tracks the edge of Vasto’s old town for 300m from the Palazzo d…

A marvel of post-earthquake restoration, the 15th-century San Bernardino gleams like a salvaged Titanic brought to the surface to sail once more. Position…

Only in the Italian backwater of Molise do you get to learn about the ancient, if esoteric, art of bell-making. For more than 1000 years, local artisans…

An extensive (if slightly dated) display of Abruzzo culture that squeezes rather a lot into 13 interconnecting rooms, covering the Bronze Age to the…

About 30km northeast of Isernia, outside Pietrabbondante, the remains of a 3rd-century-BC Samnite theatre-temple complex reward a visit, as much as…

The Riserva Naturale di Punta Aderci is a 285-hectare area of unspoilt, rocky coastline north of Vasto. Sheltering both farms and woodland, the eponymous…

This museum and info centre has an impressive amount of information (in Italian only) on the Appenine wolf and its role in myth and literature. There's…