Pescara, places to visit?

Active seaside town

Pescara is a bright, modern city, which is situated at the mouth of the river of the same, on the Adriatic Sea in Abruzzo, but less than an hour away from the highest peaks of the Apennine Mountains.

The city has been an exclusive tourism destination since the early twentieth century, as testified by period photos and the city’s elegant Art Nouveau villas, which are still carefully maintained. A stroll along the sea front lives up to all expectations: from the beautiful views and the scent of the trees and plants, including the cheerful palms, to the night clubs that energise the tourist scene on summer nights. But there are also picturesque open-air restaurants and a cycle path for taking in the healthy sea air. During the summer there are daily connections with Croatian islands (Havar and Split), as well as the Tremiti islands.

The “Marina di Pescara” Port is not only one of the most active, but also one of the largest and best-equipped ports on the Adriatic Sea. Since 1990 it holds the coveted European Blue Flag award. Here assistance is guaranteed 24 hours a day, and inside it offers everything a tourist may ask and wish for: an elegant and well stocked shopping centre, restaurants serving local dishes, a sailing club, sail & fun trips, bike and car hire and, lastly, the opportunity to book week-long cruises.

Flaiano Bridge

The port is also a starting point for educational and healthy excursions to local nature parks, wildlife areas, spas and even ski resorts.

Pescara also has splendid forests of Aleppo pines with their unique umbrella shape, which distinguish the coastline. There are also some well-known Nature Reserves, such as the state reserve, which has a trim trail and the Avalos pine forest with its pretty lake with swans, and the Regional Nature Reserve: all green oases that inspired the work of the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, who came from Pescara.

Avalos Park

The pine forest of D’Annunzio is found in the southern area of the city, and is known as the Pineta d’Avalos or Parco d’Avalos after the name of the family who held the marquisate of Pescara at the time of the Bourbons. The historical and spectacular former Aurum building, an auditorium and the Gabriele D’Annunzio Theatre, which holds many popular concerts and theatre performances, are also found in the reserve. The Aurum was built in 1910 as a “kursaal” (spa) with a circular layout, but the project remained unfinished until the 1920s when the Pomilio family transformed it into the Aurum distillery - a name created by D’Annunzio because it manufactured a liqueur made of oranges (Latin: aurantium). The State Forestry Corps is located inside the Santa Filomena Pine Forest, to the north of the city, which manages the Bird of Prey and Wild Animal Rescue Centre. The centre has some 500 examples of birds of prey alone.

Thermal Spa Centres of Caramanico

Thermal Spa

Pescara is not just a place of nature reserves or golden beaches that extend to Montesilvano and Città Sant’Angelo Marino, it is also an oasis of well-being and ‘remise en forme’ at the nearby Thermal Spa Centres of Caramanico and Popoli, which offer pampering, beauty and health treatments.

Roast mutton

The local cusine

The local cuisine offers an exceptional variety of tasty dishes, true delights that range from fish soup, raw fish salad, stuffed squid, linguine pasta with corn on the cob sauce or roast monkfish to seafood specialities served alongside dishes of the “land” such as maccheroni alla chitarra (pasta made with a device known as a chitarra or guitar), roast mutton accompanied by slices of fried bread, sagne e fagioli (pasta and beans), ciffe e ciaffe di maiale (fried pork with chilli and garlic), to finish with the local sweet of celebrations: parrozzo, a mixture of chocolate and almonds.
This is an area waiting to be discovered in all its different aspects - from sport and wellness to delicious flavours, and ending with a glass of excellent wine such as Trebbiano or Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

Text by Anna Glik

Avion Tourism Magazine
Photos: Sisterscom.com, Shutterstock

Video: www.abruzzoturismo.it
Copyright © Sisterscom.com

Tourism Board

www.turismo.provincia.pescara.it
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Where to sleep in Pescara

Pescara is a welcoming city and offers different possibilities for accommodation.

To find the ideal hotel and the best offers you can do a search for the stars but also for districts or landmarks.

STARS

Hotels for stars, differentiated by type of services:

DISTRICTS

Hotels in the districts

LANDMARKS

Hotels in tourist area

Gabriele D'Annunzio House

AIRPORT

Hotels near airport

Pescara Airport

where to go in pescara

Monuments in Pescara

PIAZZA DELLA RINASCITA

Piazza della Rinascita is one of the most important squares in Pescara, and is known by the inhabitants of the city as Piazza Salotto, or meeting place. It was recently redesigned as a pedestrian space by the famous Japanese architect Toyo Ito and is now the most popular square of local residents. This large square is divided into two by Corso Umberto I and by a tree-lined traffic island. Also worth a visit are Palazzo Arlecchino and Palazzo Testa.

TRABOCCHI

The coastline of Pescara features unusual fishing installations, which are known by the locals as “Trabocchi” (fishing huts) and which are fixed to the rocks by piles. “Trabocchi” are traditional structures used by Pescara families, who employed them not only as a means of sustenance but also as places for living. So that these examples of historical significance can be handed down for future generations, they have been saved from ruin using funds from the Pescara municipal authority.

SAN CETTEO CATHEDRAL

The cathedral, dedicated to St. Cetteus, was built between 1933 and 1938 on the site of the Romanesque Church of Holy Jerusalem, some remains of which can be seen in front of the cathedral. The new construction was vigorously promoted by the writer and poet Gabriele d'Annunzio, who was a donor to the project and who commissioned Cesare Bazzani to be the architect. The church houses the tomb of the mother of D’Annunzio, Luisa.

Museums in Pescara

MUSEUM OF THE ABRUZZO PEOPLE

Establishing a Museum of the Abruzzo People has been vigorously pursued by the local people since 1973 when the Associazione per lo Studio delle Tradizioni Regionali Abruzzesi (Association of the Study or Abruzzo Regional Traditions) and the Archeoclub of Pescara established the Museo delle Tradizioni Popolari Abruzzesi (Museum of Abruzzo Popular Traditions). On 16 June 1991, the first 8 rooms of the museum were opened to the public. They illustrate the history of man in Abruzzo from his first appearance in Palaeolithic times to the 1950s.

www.gentidabruzzo.it

BIRTH HOUSE MUSEUM

OF G. D’ANNUNZIO

The Birth House Museum of D'Annunzio occupies the first floor of the building where the poet was born and spent his childhood. The building still retains its nineteenth-century origins with elegant wall decorations and antique furniture. The tour passes through a series of rooms, the first five of which make up the original core of the house, with descriptions of each. The remaining rooms display items of clothing, books, casts and artefacts belonging to the poet.

www.casadannunzio.beniculturali.it

MODERN ART MUSEUM

The Modern Art Museum "Vittoria Colonna" is housed in a building constructed in 1953 according to a project of the Rationalist architect Eugenio Montuori. It was subsequently restored by the architectGaetano Colleluori and since 2002 has housed the "Vittoria Colonna" Museum. The museum’s collection is currently made up of donations from Gangai-Stoppato (works by Brindisi, Bueno, Calabria, Carrà, Guidi, Guttuso, Manzù, Maccari, Mirò, Picasso and others), Misticoni and Benini.

www.muvi.org/museovittoriacolonna

Excursions in Pescara

MOUNTAINS IN WINTER

The Pescara mountains offer numerous well-groomed trails and itineraries for lovers of cross-country skiing. The Majelletta ski area rises to 2,000 metres and has 7 ski lifts and good runs.

Piana del Voltigno, which can bereached from Villa Celiera, is a plateau on the eastern edge of the Gran Sasso mountain with beautiful routes in a secluded environment. Splendid views can be enjoyed over theOrfento Valley from Decontra alla Piana Grande at the foot of the Majella massif.

PENNE'S LAKE

Between the Gran Sasso and the Majella, a few kilometres from the town of Penne, lies an artificial lake, Lake Penne, built by damming the River Tavo, which since 1987 has been one of the most important nature reserves of the region. Around the lake are hornbeam, maple, willow and poplar trees, while the lake is inhabited by eels, trout, pike and carp, and there are some 160 species of birds. The lake is also a starting point for mountain bike rides or hikes.

THERMAL BATHS OF POPOLI

The striking town of Popoli is also an important spa centre, which offers opportunities for relaxation and regeneration with wellness packages. One of the treatments to be tried at the Popoli Thermal Baths, a modern, elegant building surrounded by gardens, is the mud treatment. This valuable mud is obtained by “maturing” a typeof particularly refined and purified clay for many months in special tubs with sulphur water "Decontre". www.termedipopoli.it

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