5/29 – Not sure how to begin this post. We did so much in one day, I can only hope I remember it all. Sunday my cousins picked us up for a road trip. As we drove along the country roads, the sights were beautiful as you can see from the photos below. Many were different than places we’ve seen so far, and also unexpected, perhaps because Antonino didn’t really tell us about each stop. Additionally, if you in your lifetimes have not already come to this conclusion, it is impossible to capture by camera what that wonderful gift we have of our own eyes can capture out in nature. These Abruzzese mountains, valleys, hills and dales are truly amazing but impossible to capture by camera. I wish I could upload videos to this blog site as to pan across Abruzzo, and Tuscany I might add, would be a better way to present the beauty of these places. Capturing the Rocky Mountains, the Smoky Mountains or the vast plains of our Midwest would be equally challenging. You simply must visit and see to truly appreciate the beauty!

The weather was a little iffy with rain in the forecast. Of course the fog played into our day but in a good way. Antonino and Gabriella were here at 9am and off we went. It was cloudy and slightly cooler so this was good. They knew Jim had a list of places we wanted to see while we are here in Chieti. We had no idea what they were going to do; only that we would eat lunch out at some point.

Our first stop really was a surprise. It was at the Hotel Rigipiano where in January 2017, an earthquake started an avalanche that rolled down the mountain and crashed into, covered and destroyed the Hotel Rigipiano in Farindola, Italy. Forty people were at the hotel; 29 were killed and 11 rescued. The weight of snow and debris amounted to 120,000 tons which hit the hotel at 62 mph. We remembered hearing about this but seeing the site, or what is left, is something we will not forget. How sad and how scary!

More roadside shots of the mountains, hills and valleys, each more beautiful than the last.

The Corno Grande in this photo sits beyond the Campo Imperatore plateau in the Gran Sasso Range. It is the highest peak on the Italian peninsula. There are higher mountains in the Italian Alps and Mount Etna in Sicily is also higher – a surprise to me that a volcano sits higher than these “highest mountain” peaks. There is also Corno Piccolo at 2,655 meters or 8,710 feet. Together they form the Gran Sasso Massif. Campo Imperatore is a huge plateau located on the upper levels of the Gran Sasso Range. The plateau is 16 miles long by 4 miles wide and is sometimes referred to as the Italian Tibet.

Of course I had to snap a few photos of flowers. What would a trip be without flowers, something I dearly do love to see and smell. Italy right now is almost covered with so many different and colorful flowers.

I could not miss an opportunity to take some photos of me and my cousin Gabriella. We share the same birthday but different years. We get along so well and are so happy to be related and having found each other after all these years. Then there were the boys who were looking for mushrooms to pick: Antonino and Jim. Then there were four – all together for a selfie.

The mountains were all so beautiful and we were surrounded by them as we drove through them. Absolutely gorgeous and something we just don’t see everyday. Even had snow on the mountain tops.

Hotel Campo Imperatore, otherwise known as Mussolini Prigione (prison) sits on one end of the Campo Imperatore. Toward the end of Italian involvement as an Axis Power in World War II, Mussolini was removed as Il Duce and dictator of Italy and imprisoned, first at the Carabinieri (Police) Headquarters in Rome and then moved several times until he arrived up here at the top of the mountain range, a pretty defensible location. However, within two or three days of arriving and on Hitler’s order, he was “rescued” and swept away by Nazi special forces and taken to Germany.

A hundred yards or so from the hotel is the top end of a funicular or cable car system that was constructed in 1934 and continued in operation until 1985. It in fact, was part of the German operation to free Mussolini. Some of the old equipment is still in place.

Sort of across the parking lot is the Campo Imperatore Observatory Station, closed at the moment but which has been part of the astronomical observatory system administered out of Rome. It is still used for research and when open, for popularization of astronomical pursuits.

Time to start back down the mountain and across the Campo Imperatore where we saw the fog rolling across the road. There were also more beautiful flowers and scenery before arriving at the rustic restaurant where we were going to have lunch. This restaurant had an open area for eating as well as for grilling your meat. We enjoyed bread, cheese and grilled pork. It was delicious!

There were a few people out this day along with a goodly number on motorcycles. Just proves food brings people together no matter where you live. Motorcycles do as well according to Antonino!

Time to move along and see more of this beautiful country. Went to Santo Stefano di Sessanio. As one result of the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake, Santo Stefano lost its two most precious architectural prizes: its Medici Tower, the town’s iconic symbol, which totally collapsed, and its 17th-century Church of the Madonna del Lago, which lost most of its front facade and suffered a major roof collapse. The hill town’s other ancient masonry buildings largely survived although many suffered structural damage. The town is still being repaired but the tower and the church are finished. It is a beautiful, very old place with little shops inside the grottos. My cousin Vincenzo owns the restaurant in the lower, front center of this photo.

As our drive continues, we see more beautiful scenery, with flowers of course, and we stop so Jim and Antonino can look for mushrooms. Although they did find some, they were not edible. Mushroom picking is one of Antonino’s favorite pastimes and he is usually able to bring home a large crop but not today.

As we came down out of the mountains, we eased along the hillsides to Capestrano. You may recall that it was in a field near this town that the Guerriero (warrior) statue shown previously was discovered.

Our final stop and town of the day was Pacentro. Really beautiful sitting up against the mountainside and equally as wonderful looking down across it from the upper level. Perhaps not well known is the fact that Madonna, an Italian, has a home in this town.

Lastly we came across a field where there were many cows munching on the grasses. Hope you can see the bells around their necks. As they ate and moved around, you could hear the bells clanging.

A very nice day spent with our cousins on a great road trip seeing sights that we had not seen before. Hope you enjoy all the photos.