Arrival in Abruzzo in late afternoon for check-in at hotel on the coast north of Pescara, where the group will stay until the day of departure. Dinner and overnight stay

Departure for Sulmona, one of Abruzzo’s finest art cities, with a visit to the San Panfilo Cathedral, the mediaeval aqueduct, the Annunziata Church and Palace, and other monuments. Light lunch with traditional local specialities. After the panoramic Sagittario Gorges, the excursion reaches Lake Scanno. Visit to Scanno town centre, one of the region’s most attractive and best preserved. Scanno has long traditions of goldsmithing, still kept alive by local craftsmen. Visit to one of the town’s oldest goldsmithery workshops and return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Departure for excursion to Lanciano, visiting the Santa Maria del Ponte Cathedral, the old Lancianovecchia quarter, the San Francesco Church, inside which the holy relics of the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano are kept, the oldest such relics and among the few recognized by the Catholic church. Light lunch with fish specialities at a traditional “trabocco” fishing platform. The excursion continues to the 13th-century San Giovanni in Venere Abbey, in a beautiful location overlooking the sea, then following the Trabocchi Coast. In the natural environment of rocky cliffs and tiny inlets, there are traditional “trabocchi” fishing platforms suspended above the sea and supported on tall wooden piles, an ancient type of fishing that now survives in only a few parts of the Mediterranean. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast in the hotel and departure for the Gran Sasso National Park, reaching Campo Imperatore, a vast plateau at an altitude of 1600 metres, made famous by the westerns of Sergio Leone and the Trinity series of films, which were shot here on location. The excursion continues to Santo Stefano di Sessanio, a typical mediaeval village, with a visit to a former convent for lunch. Departure in the afternoon for the Navelli Plateau, famous for its production of saffron and offering spectacular views, then continuing to the Santa Maria di Bominaco Abbey, breathtakingly set in a splendid landscape. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast in the hotel and departure for the Santo Spirito Valley, a magnificent rocky gorge with a river running along the valley floor, and the nearby San Bartolomeo hermitage of the Celestine order, which can be reached on foot with a return trip of about 90 minutes. Lunch with sampling menu at a farm holiday centre, then continuing in the afternoon to Serramonacesca, with a visit to the Benedictine monastery of San Liberatore alla Maiella, one of Abruzzo’s finest and most attractive mediaeval monuments, set in splendid natural scenery. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Departure after breakfast for Civitella del Tronto, a town dominated by one of Europe’s largest fortresses, set in an exceptionally panoramic position. Visit to a local winery where some of Abruzzo’s best wines are made, with tasting session and light lunch. Continuing in the afternoon with a visit to Atri, one of Abruzzo’s most beautiful towns. Its many attractions include the Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral, the Ducal Palace of the Acquaviva family, the Civic Theatre, the Augustinian church and a splendid terrace offering a panorama stretching from the Adriatic to the peaks of the Gran Sasso. Return to hotel in the late afternoon for dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast in hotel and end of our services.