A trip into Abruzzo
Posted in italian culture on February 18th, 2009The Abruzzo region of Italy is known for many things: a wild, unbridled countryside; delicious food spiced with hot peppers; old, archaic traditions wrought by centuries of heartache, toil, and isolation from outsiders. In short, going to Abruzzo is like traveling back in time, to an Italy that seems to operate much as it did 20, 50, even a 100 years ago.
What drew me to the Abruzzo was not the culture, however, but the food. The region boasts some of the spiciest food in Italy, which is a preference that seems to grow the further south you go in Italy. Honed by years of devouring Mexican food, I was tired of mild northern Italian food and craved a meal that left my tongue on fire. Even more, the Abruzzo also served another of my passions–outdated but magical kitchen appliances–as it is the home of the “pasta alla chitarra”, the pasta guitar.
I landed in Navelli, a town situated in the mountains above Pescara, with a population of 400. For now, I’ll leave you with my walking tour photos. They are of the old town on the hill, a mostly abandoned but hauntingly beautiful place that reminded me of Pompeii; it seemed as though one day, many years ago, everyone just picked up and left.