The stunningly scenic acre of gently-sloping, south-facing land bordered by olive groves that we bought in Abruzzo after moving permanently from England a year ago is coming along a treat. Soon, it’ll provide our new home; your three Abruzzo holiday villas; and a swimming pool. Now we just have to transform an Abruzzo building site into an Abruzzo garden…
(Click on the headline ttitle above for more - with pictures !)

Vino Novello 2008. Cantine Tollo and Miglianico

November in Abruzzo is a good month. We get our first taste of the year’s new olive oil - emerald green and peppery; the sweet chestnuts are are gathered in sackfuls for roasting on open wood and charcoal fires; and best of all, around the middle of the month, all the local cantine release their Vino Novello.

(One’s great - one’s not so great. To discover whether it was Tollo or Miglianico who carried off the tasting honours, click on the main headline title above !)

Pescara 2009 will be the biggest sports festival that Abruzzo’s ever staged. Like the Olympics, the Mediterranean Games takes place every four years and is a multi-event spectacular - but it features 30 different sports, while at the Olympics, you can see only 26. Pescara 2009 will be only the third occasion that an Italian city has hosted the Mediterranean Games since they were first held at Alexandria in Egypt in 1951.

(Click on the headline title above to find out more about this sporting extravaganza in Abruzzo next year - and where and how to watch. Or even be a part of it !)