Abruzzo & Marche

Abruzzo is a region full of hilltop villages and medieval towns overlooked by mountain ranges whilst Marche, lying between the Apennines and the Adriatic, is a much more varied region. It's coastline is studded with tourist filled resorts and it's beaches a sea of umbrellas. Behind this, sit miles and miles of unspoilt countryside, a patchwork quilt of farmland and mountain regions. After booking a ferry to Croatia in 4 weeks we have had plenty of time to explore these last couple of regions of Italy before we leave. We have spent around 2 months in Italy now and are still yet to venture to the northern tip of Italy. There's so much to see and do and we've learnt such a lot since we arrived. 

Camper Parking: Casabordinio (5€)
We arrived at this coastal town 67km north of our last stop. We went to the local shop to buy a 24 hour camping ticket for 5€. Hoping to save money before heading to Croatia at the end of the month we decided not to lead ourselves into temptation and opted for a quite walk along the pebbled beach with Oscar. There were camper vans lining the waters edge and the atmosphere was relaxed and slow paced. We moseyed along the beach for a good couple of hours before heading back to the camper just in time. The weather changed and it felt just like being back home, the van was thrown all over the place by the fierce winds and the huge raindrops sounded like golf balls hitting the roof. At one point We thought our bikes might disappear off the back of the van. Oscar buried himself under a blanket whilst we sat looking out to sea watching the storm.

Cassabordinio

Oscar playing on the beach at Cassabordinio

 

The wild camp at Cassabordinio

 Wild Camp 34: Lanciano 

37km north we reached our next stop. A spot in a relatively quiet car park outside a church. There were three other campers parked here and a few people coming and going visiting the church. We walked through a quiet square into a busy town centre with four wide boulevards of shops. We pootled about looking at clothes and jewellery and once again managed to resist stopping for a few beers and something to eat. We headed back to the camper for dinner, played a few games of cards and went to bed. The following morning we headed back into the town and sat in the square using the free wifi. We bought some watermelon from a fruit stall along the road and enjoyed it for lunch before leaving for our next stop. 

Lanciano Town Centre

Lanciano Town Hall

Wild Camp 35: Notaresco

90km north of Lanciano, this wild camp was at a tennis club with free electricity, fresh water and washing facilities. The wild camp was so quiet and had lovely views out across the region. As we arrived late in the evening we decided not to venture out and instead had dinner and watched a film before going to bed. The following morning we did all of our washing, washed the camper and lazed about in the sun until we left for our next stop, Recanati. 

Tennis Courts at the wild camp

 

Laundry Day

Wild Camp 36: Recanati

121 north we reached Recanati. A small town famous for being the birthplace of the opera singer Beniamino Gigli and 19th century poet Giacomo Leopardi. We stopped at the camper parking area with free electricity and water on the outskirts of the walled village with views of the sea, hills and mountains. It was fairly late when we arrived and the parking area was almost full. It's almost the end of high season so hopefully things should start to quieten down soon and it won't be a race against time to get a parking space at every spot. We were greeted by a very large Italian family who thought we were Dutch. We chatted with the family in broken English for a while before heading inside for dinner. The following morning we walked into the town to find the tourist information office. Neither of us were overly enthusiastic about visiting the civic art gallery or places that feature in Leopardi's poetry so we picked up some information on the surrounding area and headed off. 

 

The entrance to the town

 

Recanati

 

Recanati

Wild Camp 37: 

Abbadi di Fiastra National Park, is in a separate blog post.

 

Wild Camp 38: Cingoli
Better know as the Balcony Of The Marche. Cingoli boasts an amazing panoramic position, 631m above sea level in the Eastern part of the Adriatic. We travelled 41km north west to a camper parking facility right in the town. When we arrived at the wild camp we found a note on a barrier blocking the parking to say we must collect a key fob from the tourist information. We also gathered some maps and information about the local area before settling down for dinner. the following morning we walked into the centre of the town to do some sightseeing. We entered through Porta Piana, the main way of access to the town, built in 1835. Next we headed to Balcone Delle Marche, built in 1931 providing the best viewpoint in the town. Next we went to Castaglioni Palace, the birthplace of Francessco Saverio who became Pope in 1829. We also visited San Francessco Church, the oldest Franciscan church in Cingoli, the Maltempo (Bad Weather) Fountain and the Town Hall. After a jam packed morning of sightseeing and browsing around the shops we set off for our next stop Macerata.

The Balcony of The Marche

 

Cingoli Park

 

We did a spot of shopping in the town

Oscar grabbing a quick drink

 

Wild Camp 39: Macerata 
This destination was not along our original route however we decided to double back on ourselves and head here on the promise of a fantastic market. 35km south east we reached our wild camp outside a football ground.

The wild camp at Macerata

 

 

The ticket office

We've been told the market is from 7-1 so we get an early night in preparation. Naturally, I'm up before the alarm, mainly out of excitement because I absolutely love a market, even more so a European market. We throw on whatever clothes are clean, slacking on the washing front lately, and walk towards the centre hoping that we'll stumble across the market. En route a jolly afro American guy stopped Jac to tell him in a strong Texas accent "dem some sweet tats my man, y'nah whadam sayinn". Jac smiled nervously and politely thanked the man before walking away. From the bottom of the hill we could see the market stalls spilling out of every road and alley way into the centre, the sight of this almost caused me to pass out with excitement. The market was busy but slow paced, people weren't in a rush which was a good job as we were barely awake yet and neither was Oscar. We studied each stall for ages, looking at everything they had to offer. Four hours later and laden with shopping bags we stopped for some lunch before walking back to the camper to examine our haul. We managed to cram our purchases into every last crack and crevice of spare space in the camper before heading off for our next stop.

Some graffiti at Macerata

Wild Camp 40: Montecosaro
30km north of Macerata and back on track with out original route we arrive at our next wild camp. A car park on the edge of the town surrounded by trees (and mosquitos). We had dinner and watched a film before bed. Just as we were dozing off to sleep a loud bang on the top of the van jolted me wide awake. It sounded like a golf ball had landed right above our heads. Jac climbed up to look out of the skylight to see if there was any damage. He slowly raised his head out to look at the roof and was greeted square in the face by a Praying Mantis. The first one either of us have ever seen, Jac was fascinated and spent a good half an hour recording the insect dancing about on the roof. The following day was Oscars 2nd Birthday. We had scrambled egg on toast and took him back to the Nature Reserve for a long birthday walk. we spent the majority of the day there before heading back to Recanati for the night.

A praying mantis dancing on our aerial

 

Wild Camp 41: Recanati/Ancona
We came back to Recanati for one night before driving to Ancona for our ferry to Croatia. Jac made a vegetable curry for dinner and we spent the evening planning our route through Croatia. The following day we sunbathed before showering and heading to the ferry port.

Abbadia Di Fiastra National Park - Marche

46km west and inland we headed to Abbadia Di Fistra, this was in fact Wild Camp 37, however after intending to stay here for one night when we arrived on 21 August, we ended up staying until a week later. Centred around the Abbey of Chiaravalle of Fiastra. The Abbey was built in 1142 and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, there is also a monastery built by monks of the same period. The reserve was founded in 1984 and covers 1801 hectares, approximately 4.5 thousand acres. The reserve is divided into three sections, the oriented nature reserve, the anthropological reserve and the zone of protection. Also within the reserve there is a tourist office, a visitors centre, an agriculture museum, local produce shops, bars, restaurants, pizzerias and picnic areas. The camper parking area was basic with no electricity but we ran the fridge and appliances on gas and looked forward to the few days ahead.

Abbadia di Fiastra Nature Reserve

We walked with Oscar around the nature reserve through farmland and past an Agriturismo which took about 2.5 hours. We saw chickens, ducks, a pig, horses and some deer in the zone of protection. By the time we got back to the camper van it was boiling and we were shattered, Jac replenished his energy levels with a two person serving of Carbonara.  We had a siesta before heading out for another walk later that afternoon, this time we walked up towards the Agriturismo and across a road to a huge area of woodland. When we returned to the camper we had pasta and tinned tomatoes for dinner and played Benny which I won. Obviously upset that I was on a winning streak he accused me of cheating and made me 'admit' it before he would play again, we'll probably stop playing card games for while.

Jac & Oscar consulting the map

A chick at the reserve

The following day we went for another long walk. We found a river where Jac and Oscar went for a paddle and I rustled around in the undergrowth looking for frogs and toads. We walked along the olive groves to get back to the camper and shared watermelon for lunch. Later that day we went food shopping and stocked up on some essentials to take back to the reserve with us. We marinated prawns (again) when we got back before going for yet another walk, it was much harder this time round and I moaned most of the way. We got back to the camper and had a prawn salad and potato wedges for dinner.
 

Watermelons are sold on the side of every road in Italy

 

 





Prawn Salad with Wedges



Making Garlic & Honey Marinade







The next day we were up bright and early, we took our bikes and followed a trail around the reserve. Our beach cruisers were not very well suited to the terrain which made steep hills a bit tricky. Lots of people had electric bikes making it a little easier to get around and also making us look incredibly unfit, puffing and panting whilst most others sailed around barely breaking a sweat. It began to rain so we headed back to catch up on some blogging. We watched a thunderstorm from inside the van, although Jac was desperate to get out in the rain and go for another walk. Eventually he persuaded me and we set of through the woods in the rain. On our way back we passed the zone of protection, we didn't see any deer although we did bump into two volunteers who said we could come back the following day to see them.

Not quite the mountain bikes we needed

Excited at the opportunity to see the deer we set our alarm for 5.45am. We were sat ready and waiting at the zone of protection by 6.30 after deciding to leave Oscar alone in the van for half an hour. However our excitement was short lived when I had to head back to the van after we heard Oscar howling from the other side of the horse fields. He had managed to flick the radio on and was howling along very loudly to Italian opera music. Needless to say we were unpopular with people sleeping in the surrounding campers. After his performance we decided not to risk it happening again and took him along to the deer enclosure with us. The volunteers, Milko and Suzanna were waiting for us, we tied Oscar to the gate and headed inside the enclosure.

 

The deer in the Zone of Protection

Milko with two of the deer and his dog Otto

There were 13 deer in total including 3 young. Three of them, Sibilla, Antonio and Ceasar were domestic as they had been hand reared by Milko and Susanna for 1 month following their rescue and the rest had been brought to the foundation by other organisations and the police. Milko's dog Otto, a white and brindle Whippet was also in the enclosure and got on really well with the deer, playing with them and even trying to share some medicine given to the youngest deer Ceasar.

Ceasar

Milko and Susanna told us they were heading to the mountains for a dog walk and kindly invited us to walk with them. Our old camper would never make it up all those steep hills so they offered to drive us and said they would be back in 45 minutes to collect us. We rushed around like lunatics tidying up the devastation from our early start, packing a rucksack of mountain essentials and donning our grown up walking boots before they came back to collect us. When they arrived an hour later we were sat waiting on the step like excited little children. We piled into the car and set off for our walk.  We drove for 45 minutes to the Sanctuary of Macareto in the National Park of the Sibillini Mountains where we stopped to let the dogs have a run around. The sanctuary was built in the 16th century around the original smaller 14th century chapel. It houses as statue of the Madonna. In august 1359 the mules carrying the statue stopped and refused to go any further which is how the Madonna came to rest here. We continued our journey further south towards Casteluccio where we walked 5.7km through the mountain range. When we reached the vantage point near the top the air was crisp and freezing when you took a deep breath.

Sanctuary of Macareto

 

A view of the Sibillini Mountain Range

From here we could see Mount Vettore, Italian for Victory, 2476m above sea level. It is also named the cloud factory because it gives the impression the clouds are appearing from a ledge on the mountain, it was really impressive. We stopped for a rest and Suzanna had kindly made us lunch. We had homemade wholemeal bread rolls with sunflower, pumpkin and linen seeds, a mixture of vegetables and olive oil and a peach for afterwards, it was absolutely delicious. On our way back down we saw two enormous white fluffy mountain dogs protecting a large herd of sheep and their young.

 

These mountain dogs protect the sheep

 

 

Their paw prints were the same size as Jac's fist

 

 

Milko, Susanna & Otto

Lentil Flower

Susanna told us that two week previous the surrounding fields had been completely blue with lentil flowers. She showed us the flowers and explained that when the flowers dies the lentils are extracted from the plant. Intrigued by this we headed to Casteluccio to buy some lentils. We bought 800g (400g of orange and 400g of green) and got some cooking and recipe tips from Susanna.

Lentil stall in Casteluccio

 

Next we headed to a town called Visso, On the way to Visso Milko told us about a lake in the mountains that contains a crustacean named Chiroefalo Marchesonis and is referred to as the living fossil. This is the only place in the entire world where it can be found. When we arrived in Visso we parked the car and walked into the centre of the town where Milko and Susanna took us to the Collegiata S.Maria a beautiful church famous for a huge painting it houses of St Christopher and Jesus. We saw some typical medieval buildings and tasted Ciauscolo, a spicy sausage meat usually torn and served on small pieces of crusty bread. We bought some Ciauscolo and cheese from the butchers and got some bones for Oscar.

Ciauscolo, lentils & Pecorino di Visso

 

On the way back to the car we stopped at a famous bakery for a slice of pizza which Milko treated us to. Milko and Susanna also gave us some biscuits to try, they were called Biscotti Secchi Alla Vernaccia, essentially they are sugar coated biscuits made with red wine. they don't sound overly appealing but they were absolutely delightful. So after spending almost 11 hours with us, driving us around the region getting to know us, teaching us about local foods and taking us to famous spots Milko and Susanna took us back to the Nature Reserve. We were all exhausted after a jam packed day but we were so grateful to them both for offering to spend the day with us and show us around. We told Milko and Susanna that if they ever come to England we would be happy to return the favour and take them to see some of our sight. After such a busy day our heads had barely touched the pillows before we had fallen asleep. The following we morning we slept in, we even managed to sleep through the donkey at the Agriturismo that insisted on heehawing at a ridiculously early hour every morning.

 

Milko, Susanna & Otto

Pootling Through Puglia

Today we crossed into the region of Puglia, 93km from our last stop. Puglia is the long strip of land 400km from north to south that makes up the 'heel' of Italy. We headed to the most northern point of the region, Gargano E Daunia, or the Gargano Promonotory, boasting some of the finest un polluted sand and see to be found anywhere on the Adriatic coast. Our first stop, Troia.

Wild Camp 32: Troia 

A pleasant spot, free dedicated camper parking with free electricity, waste water disposal and fresh water. We set up camp in a shaded corner of the car park and headed off for a walk into the town. We stopped at the tourist information office and picked up some information on the surrounding areas to help us plan our route and the next few stops. The town was fairly quiet, it looked like a local festival had just ended, as with many places in Italy, August is festival season and most towns hold their own local events to celebrate local art, music, food and drink. We've been lucky enough to stumble across a couple but unfortunately missed this one. Troia is famous for housing one of the most beautiful  Romanesque churches in the region. The cathedral dedicated to Santa Maria dell'Assunta boasts a worldwide unique 13th century rose window. Another piece of information we found out is that Troia actually means 'slut' in Italian. The locals are fairly blasé about the name of their village and believe the towns name probably has it's origins in Helen of Troy. 

The Wild Camp at Troia

 



Santa Maria dell'Assunta

Camper Parking: Zapponeta (20€)

128km north east we reach the Adriatic coast at Zapponeta. There was no wild camp here so we opted for a camper parking site instead. The cost was 20€ per night including electricity, 50 cents for a hot shower (which lasted approximately 2 minutes, no where near enough!!) and the water points were fed by sea water so no drinking or cooking with that. We took Oscar to the beach, he enjoyed running in to fetch sticks and cool down. That evening we had dinner and watched a film, music from a club nearby was playing until 3am so we were both tapping our feet until we finally managed to get to sleep. The following morning we headed to the beach around 7am before it got too hot for Oscar. Jac was clearly still half asleep as he managed to trip on the only rock on the beach and split his toe open. That afternoon we walked into the town where everything was closed for siesta apart from one bar so we stopped for a ice cream before packing up and heading off to our next stop. 

Oscar playing in the sea at Zapponeta

Jac relaxing with a beer

This dog paraded around the campsite in her pants

Wild Camp 33: Manfredonia

32km north along the Adriatic coast sheltered by the Sun Mountain we reached our next stop. A wild camp on the beach front in Manfredonia. There are 6 other campers here and we bag ourselves the last space. We took a walk along the beach with Oscar before heading to a bar opposite the wild camp to use the wifi. Eight beers and two snack plates later we left Albatross Bar. The snack plates were 2.50€ and consisted of cream cheese, brushetta, garlic sausage, a slice of pizza, a salami sandwich and a selection of puff pastry treats. Absolutely amazing! We enjoyed it so much we went back the following morning for breakfast and had croissants and tea, before walking into the town and mooching around the shops and again in the afternoon for another snack plate each before heading off to our next stop. En route to out next stop we found a stall selling pickled vegetables, oils, chillies and Taralli, a circular shaped savoury flavoured cross between a biscuit and a crisp. We bought two packets, original and pizza flavour. 

At the beach before we found the bar

The most amazing snack plate EVER

 

The wild camp at Manfredonia

The stall selling Taralli on the way to Vieste

Camper Parking: Vieste (24€)

58km north we reach Vieste. Again, no wild camp here so camper parking it is. It's pricey at 24€ per night but the showers are hot and unlimited and there's drinking water which saves us a fortune on bottled water which we seem to be going through like nobodies business at the moment. There was a small river running through the site which led down to the sea. There were lots of ducks gathered in the river, mating, which obviously Jac found fascinating although was worried about them getting to caught up in the moment and drowning. The beach was beautiful but packed. There were men pulling entire bikini stalls on their backs along the beach, a man teaching dance routines to overenthusiastic bathers and large families with their own camps set up. Oscar met lots of other dogs, including a Toy Beagle, a Beagle cross and two adorable dachshunds he was in his element. We didn't do a great deal that evening, we had dinner and watched a film ready for an early start the next day.

 

The most amazing bikini stall on the beach



Oscar made friends with these two Dachshunds

 

 

A view of Vieste on the Adriatic Coast

The Adriatic Sea

Camper Parking: Peschici (20€)

We were up and checked out by 8am, we headed up to a vantage point in the edge of the hillside overlooking a bay with an impressive archway. We took lots of photos and headed to our next stop.

 

A quiet bay in Peschici

Peschici

Another camper parking site, full to the brim. We made it to the beach to watch the sunset which was beautiful. The whole beach was lined with sun loungers and umbrellas with little room for anything else. Between Vieste and Peschici there are huge structures submerged in the sea a little way from the shore. They belong to an ancient form of fishing technique named Trabucci, which uses large platforms anchored to the rocks and ropes and pulleys. Some have been restored and three of them are now restaurants. We managed to spot one just off the coast on Peschici beach and when the sun had gone down we could see another one lit up further along the coast. The following morning we were at the beach by 6am, hoping to see the sun come up, we walked to the cliffs edge and managed to get a quiet spot to watch the sun rise. We took some pictures of the fishing towers and sunbather for a couple of hours before heading back to the camper to pack up and head off.

 

Trabucco in Peschici

Trabucco in Peschici

 

Sunrise in Peschici

 

 

An early morning sunbathing session

 

Camper Parking: Lesina Marina (20€)

93km north we reach our next spot. No wild camping so we paid 20€ for one night here. We will definitely need to up our wild camping to save some money after the amount we have spent in the last few days. Low season starts again in September meaning everything is around half the price it is in high season. Even the beer is cheaper, dropping from around 4€ to 1.50€ in low season. We walked into the town which was a hive of activity. The locals were getting ready for a mini festival, Festa Italiana. There were shopping stalls, sweets and savoury food stalls and a bar all centred around an open air stage. We wandered around the stalls selling everything from jewellery to pots and pans, there was a candy floss stall, a sweet stall, an olive stall and an enormous BBQ. We shared some BBQ pork skewers and olive oil with bread, followed by a couple of beers and a Nutella crepe before we left.

 

Camper van chores

BBQ Pork & beer at Festa Italiana

Festa Italiana