Irrespective of when during the year you book into our Abruzzo rental villas, Pescocostanzo is one of those places that you just can't go home without visiting. In winter, it's part of the huge Alto Sangro ski and winter sports complex, with a lift up to the runs linking it with Rivisindoli and Roccacaraso; in summer, hike, bike, stroll, ride - or just leisurely drive around - and enjoy the stunning scenery. Spring and autumn are perhaps the best times of all. A little less busy; a little more relaxed; and the weather's wonderful: warm days and cool nights.

Getting There
Pescocostanzo's an easy hour's drive south of us. You skirt Fara San Martino where the world-renowned 'De Cecco' brand of dried pasta is made - and its unmissable factory - and then start climbing steadily through the Maiella National Park up to Palena. The road's good and the views are wonderful, but nothing will prepare you for what you'll see when you've made that last pull up through the woods from Palena and emerge onto the Cinque Miglia Plateau.

As you round one last bend, you expect to see more mountains. What you don't expect to see - and what never fails to delight me - is the enormous level plain of the Cinque Miglia spread out before you, ringed by the Maiella mountains. You're now up at about 1400m - around 4,500 feet. In winter, the Plateau becomes a vast cross-country skiing arena: for the rest of the year, it's the home of sheep - still herded on foot by shepherds and their dogs around the best grazing pastures -  and some intimidatingly large mountain cattle you'll probably already have noticed grazing by the roadside.

Welcome to Pescocostanzo
A dead straight, wide-open road, with just a little unexpected chicane around the tiny Pescocostanzo and Rivisindoli railway station, brings you to the Pescocostanzo turn-off to your right. Unless you're heading for a meal at La Corniola on your left - which we've already mentioned in an earlier blog. Keep going for another couple of hundred metres and leave your car either next to the park on your left, or in the carpark. Then walk up into the town. (You can drive into the centre of the town, but at busy times, access is for pedestrians only.)

You've got to admire the local comune for resisting the redevelopment that's marred several other resort towns. While there is a little development around Pescocostanzo, the town itself is absolutely unspoiled. And tiny.

It won't take you long to stroll around. There are a higher-than-normal number of little food shops - with higher-than-normal prices - and a couple of jewellery craft shops and art galleries - the nicest of which is just to the right of where I took the picture just below.

The via Colecchi, Pescocostanzo's main thoroughfare,  leads you to - and ends in - the triangular Piazza del Municipio, with its old Town Hall and the Palazzo Ricciarelli. There are two bars in the Piazza - the American Bar and the Bar Italia. Up until about noon on a fine day - at least in autumn - the Bar Italia is bathed in sunlight and it's the place to sit outside for your  pre-lunch glass of prosecco.

Then time moves on and the sun shines - literally - on the American Bar. Perfect for an afternoon coffee or chocolate and some excellent cake and perhaps a well-earned grappa after a stroll up the Corsa Roma off to the right of the Bar Italia which leads up to the ski lift; or a walk through the nearby Bosco San Antonio Nature Reserve; or maybe just climb the short flight of stairs you'll see a few metres past the American Bar. They'll take you up to the old church of Sant'Antonio Abate and some unmissable panoramic views over the Cinque Miglia and past Pescocostanzo's old tiled roofs up to the ski runs of Monte Calvano.

And Lunch - Or Dinner
There are at least five restaurants I know of in Pescocostanzo. I've already mentioned La Corniola; if you'd like to go somewhere a little more informal and relaxed, try Da Paolino. You'll find it on the right-hand side of the via Colecchi as you near the Piazza del Municipio. It's cosy, welcoming, bustling and comfortable - and advisable to book (0864 640080) for lunch at weekends and other busy times. The food's typically abruzzese. Terrific home-made pasta, like Fettucine di Grano Saraceno with garlic, fresh tomatoes, pine nuts and pistacchios, followed by char-grilled home made salsicce. Our bill, with an excellent bottle of Novello, was around €50. 

And Pescocostanzo has its own site too.

(Click on pictures in text for larger images)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 5th, 2007 at 6:08 am and is filed under Sightseeing, Mountains and Forests, Eating and Drinking, Villages, Ski and Winter Sports, Where To Go. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.