Discover the 'Real Italy' in Abruzzo

For some, the heritage cities of Rome, Florence and Venice, along with the landscape of Tuscany, represent 'the real Italy'.

But so often, these treasures are simply overwhelmed by the crowds of mass tourism.

Nowadays, to find the real Italy - the Italy of olive groves and vineyards; of mountains and green spaces;  of old villages and timeless tradition, you need to venture a little off the beaten tourist track.

Europe's Greenest Region

Abruzzo jealously guards its unspoiled countryside. National Parks and Nature Reserves account for 40% of its total area – the highest proportion of protected landscape in one region anywhere in Europe.

There are three famous Abruzzo National Parks straddling the Apennine mountain chain. They’re renowned for their protected wildlife – including bears, wolves and eagles - and magnificent scenery.

Abruzzo National Parks


Closest to Villasfor2 is the Majella National Park, accessible just a short drive away via Guardiagrele or Fara San Martino. The Majella National Park is the most rugged in Abruzzo, with thirty peaks of over 2000m (6500 feet) and is home to the Apennine Wolf.


Biggest of the three is the Gran Sasso National Park. Here you’ll find Il Calderone – the southernmost glacier in Europe – Corno Grande, at 9554 feet, the highest peak in the Apennine mountains; and herds of Chamois on the mountainsides.


Established in 1923, the Abruzzo National Park was the first of its kind in Italy. Spreading into the neighbouring regions of Molise and Lazio, this has the wildest and remotest terrain of Abruzzo's three National Parks and is a major stronghold of the Marsican Brown Bear.


All three parks are easily accessible by car and provide well-marked nature and hiking trails along, with a host of other sustainable leisure activities.

Development is forbidden in the National Parks, so its communities retain a timeless quality - a genuine taste of 'the real Italy'.