Overview
Nature lovers, Fano Adriano is calling you by promising an "active" stay among the peaks of the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park.
The mountain village in the province of Teramo, located in the Sicilian Valley on the remains of an ancient Roman settlement is dominated by a forest, the “Selva”, furrowed by a series of paths that allow you to explore the area.
Immerse yourself in the thick vegetation and reach in the immediate vicinity the Merletti, authentic rock “embroideries” where you will find – among peaks and spires – a large natural arch, called the Camel (Cammello), and the rocky Fairy Cave (Grotta delle Fate).
Also near the village, go and admire the Red Veins (Vene Rosse), rocky reliefs with a distinctive colour, sprouting like mysterious aliens from the dense surrounding vegetation. On one of the most beautiful spires a climbing wall has recently been built. If you are experienced, you can climb it. Nearby, find the "Grignetti", three tanks dug into the rock and used for winemaking in ancient times.
Among the most striking paths, which branch off from the village, we recommend you take the way through a coniferous forest, leads you to Colle San Marcello at the top of which stands the Eremo dell'Annunziata, built in part using the stones of an earlier Roman temple.
Other hikes, of medium and long duration, take you to Pratoselva and the Crivellaro Valley (a popular destination for ski-mountaineering), and if you are a true walker and climber, Mount Corvo is all for you.
Travel a few kilometers and you are on the Vomano River. With its many bathing stretches, it offers opportunities for a variety of sports such as rafting, canoeing and hydrospeeding, as well as quiet trout-fishing sessions.
In the village, which probably arose on the remains of an ancient Roman settlement, visit the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, rich in valuable furnishings such as a wooden coffered ceiling, a Baroque-style altar in inlaid and gilded wood, a mid-18th-century organ and interesting frescoes from the 15th and 16th centuries.
The church of San Rocco is very peculiar. Completely rebuilt on the structure of the earlier 17th-century church, beyond the ancient altarpiece, it holds important works by contemporary artists, such as the altar and ambo by Fano sculptor Silvio Cortellini.
You have to wait, however, for a visit to the Ethnographic Museum of Folk Traditions in Cerqueto (a hamlet of Fano Adriano), which is under renovation. But the tiny hamlet offers unprecedented and spectacular views of the Gran Sasso anyway.
There are several typical dishes from the area that you can enjoy, such as “acquacotta” with “voliche” (typical mountain herbs), a first course made with poor and readily available ingredients, and “Ventricina teramana”, a sausage made from pork fat mixed with a low percentage of shoulder or other lean meat, minced and seasoned with spices and sweet chili pepper and stuffed into the animal's stomach or bladder. It is eaten spread on bread after ageing, preferably with light smoking. In addition, chickpeas and chestnuts are the village's signature dish during the Christmas holidays.