Overview
Did you know that in Fara San Martino, in the province of Chieti, there are four pasta factories for 1400 inhabitants? A characteristic that defines the village in the Maiella National Park, whose original fortune is written in the water of the Verde River, a precious elixir that gushes from the Maiella massif, guaranteeing with its energy, quantity and quality, the goodness of the pasta produced in the area.
Where nature interacts with food culture, harmony and beauty are always found, which is why you cannot miss a visit to the pretty and well-kept Abruzzi village of medieval origin. It is part of the Authentic Villages of Italy and of the Touring Club's Orange Flags that was formed around the Benedictine monastery of San Martino in Valle, recorded as far back as 894.
Enter through the Porta del Sole into the ancient quarter of Terravecchia, which escaped the bombings of the last world war, where you will recognise the remains of the city walls and watch towers. Then go to the Church of San Remigio, which houses a painting attributed to Tanzio da Varallo depicting the "Circumcision with Saints Charles Borromeo and Francis of Assisi", and finally to the Park Visitor Centre. It is a useful stop to get to know the area through its small nature museum, which tells the story of typical places on the eastern side of the Maiella, and activities to raise awareness of environmental issues. Here you can also rent a mountain bike and book some of the many excursions organised by the park's environmental guides.
These include a visit to the sources of the Fiume Verde (Green River), a beautiful walk of about one kilometre along a footpath bordered by a wooden fence, among small waterfalls and unspoilt nature.
You can continue along the same route towards the San Martino Gorges, which open up through a narrow passage in the high rocky walls on the eastern slope of the Maiella. The gorge that runs from here is about 14 km long, with a difference in altitude of 2,400 metres, and takes on the names of Valle di Santo Spirito, Valle di Macchia Lunga and Valle Cannella as you ascend.
It is an exciting, and even a little scary, walk that - if you have the knack - leads you up to the highest peak in the Maiella, Monte Amaro, 2793 metres above sea level (the second highest peak in the region, after Gran Sasso with its 2912-metre-high Corno Grande).
Just beyond the gorge you will find the remains of the Monastery of San Martino in Valle, a Benedictine jewel set in the rock, recently brought to light, with its entrance courtyard, a chapel, portico, church with an entrance portal made of embedded ashlars, altars, small columns and decorated bas-reliefs.
If you are a skilled climber, do not miss the Fara San Martino-Palombaro Nature Reserve, an area of great naturalistic value with extensive formations of dwarf pine, beech forests and specimens of centuries-old laricio black pine, over which flights of golden eagles and peregrine falcons are not rare. Remember that you are in the realm of pasta? Dozens of varieties await you at the table, such as trescatori rigati, treccioni della Maiella, sagne casarecce, tagliatelle ruvide, fettuccine and pennoni rigati. And this is just the beginning.
