Overview
Amidst heights and verdant forests, Palena greets you with the warbling voice of little waterfalls and small pools of water originating from the Aventino River, which flows through it with splendid plays of light.
You are immediately captivated by the atmosphere of peace and well-being that emanates from the village, nestled in the Maiella National Park, between the upper Aventino Valley, the Pizzi Mountains and Mount Porrara, dominating the town.
In this almost magical setting to contemplate in silence, get acquainted with its history, which you encounter in the centre in the form of the 11th century castle, which belonged to the Duke of Caramanico, ruined by bombing (during World War II Palena was on the battle line between September and November 1943) and rebuilt in 1950.
From its belvedere loggia you can enjoy the full charm of the eastern Maiella valley.
But there is another vantage point, it is the Morriconi Belvedere, a small terrace on the Aventine River, which makes your gaze flow between the pine forest of Colleveduta and the wooded area as far as the eye can see to Lettopalena and beyond. And you will never want to leave.
Reach the square with the arched entrances of the old artisan stores and the public fountain, and visit, nearby, the Church of the Madonna del Rosario with precious works of art inside, such as the 15th century polychrome wooden statue depicting a Madonna and Child, and a beautiful 1660 carved and gilded organ.
Also worth a stop is the Aventino Theatre, inaugurated in 1847, one of the smallest theaters in Italy and by far the smallest in Abruzzo, with only 99 seats, distributed between the stalls, the two tiers of boxes and the upper gallery.
In the Sant'Antonio district, otherwise known as the "Aia dei Cordoni" (where you will find the Maiella National Park information centre), you come across the convent dedicated to the Saint of Padua, built in 1539, with a beautiful stone-paved portico, a single-nave church, a bell gable, rooms used for the life of the monks and a cloister.
Here, in a wing of the building, you can visit the "MOM", the Museum of the Marsican Bear (can be visited independently), a small reality focused on the figure of the plantigrade "Ursus arctos marsicanus", included in the Italian protected fauna and a symbol of mountainous Abruzzo.
The museum tour is divided into six sections, on two floors, illustrating different themes related to the brown bear. You are sure to be intrigued by the reproduction of a forest at night and an interactive wall, which tells you the secrets of the large mammal, dear to children.
For lunch, order the "sagne stracciate," a typical first course of Palena's farmers. The pasta, "torn" from the sheet, is topped with sautéed pork belly and pecorino cheese. Its simplicity made it the "poor man's dish" in the past.
Today it is a king's delicacy.
What else to see:
- The Church of San Falco and Sant’Antonino Martire
- The Bear Fauna Area
- The Celestinian Hermitage of the Madonna dell'Altare
- The Alto Aventino Geopaleontological Museum
- The Quarto Santa Chiara Oriented Nature Reserve