While we spent most of our time visiting with family in Monteferrante, we also got in some local sightseeing in southern Abruzzo.  We stayed at a little B&B, Tenuta Villa Rosato, down in the valley below Monteferrante.  The place is run by a young guy, Rosario, who took his grandparents farmhouse and renovated it into a great place to stay for a few days.  In addition to being great accommodations, it is in a perfect location to do some exploring around the region.  One of the cool things about Abruzzo is that is is not heavily touristed.  This means that you will get more of a local experience whether seeing an old castle, eating in a small restaurant, or just driving through the countryside.

We went to visit the nearby town of Roccascalegna.  It’s one of those cute Italian mountain towns with little streets and breathtaking views.  Plus, it has a castle. 

We also went to Tornareccio which is another cute mountain town.  What sets this one apart, however, is its annual mosaic art festival.  The town has around 70 mosaic pieces that have been donated by various organizations, and they are put on display for a month every summer.  The mosaic pieces are all the same size, approximately 1.5 meters x 1.5 meters.

Tornareccio is known for its honey.  In fact, it won a national competition for best honey.  Naturally, a lot of the mosaics include honey bees as part of the art.  When we first got to the town, I was trying to take photos of every single mosaic.  Then I got tired, so I decided to only take photos of mosaics with bees.  And then I was still tired.  So many bees.  The mosaics are all mounted high on building walls, so it was hard to get good photos, but here are some of my favorite mosaics:

We ate lunch in an amazing lunch in the basement of a little (locals-only) restaurant in the town.  The waiter asked each of us if we wanted the meat lunch or the seafood lunch and then brought out each course according to our order.

We had more food than this, but the photos weren’t very good so I’m not going to share them.  There’s nothing worse than a food photo where the food looks gross.

On our last afternoon in Abruzzo, Chad’s cousin Marco took me, Chad’s dad Jim, and our friend Simon to see an ancient wall that was built 2,500 years ago.  I know, it sounds lame, “Look at this old stone wall!” and maybe it’s just the archidork in me, but it was pretty cool.  Just knowing that the wall had been there for so long and had been built by a different civilization was a little mind-blowing.  Plus, it was way up on a hill and far away from other tourists which made it feel very special. 

We’re currently in the Sicilian resort town of Taormina which is jam-packed with tourists, so I’m having a bit of nostalgia for the isolated setting of that old wall.  But more on Taormina later.  Next stop, Naples!