Overview
A few kilometres from the border with the Marche, Sant'Egidio alla Vibrata gracefully opens up to your gaze, nestled at the extreme northern limit of the Vibrata Valley, at 239 metres above sea level.
You are in the province of Teramo and before moving on, stop and visit this strip of land, reminiscent of Piceno, inhabited since the Upper Paleolithic and later a Roman road with the name of Ilium.
Here, following the barbarian incursions, the Benedictines founded an abbey and the current village, bringing order and tranquillity back to a geographical context marked by great turmoil.
Visit the Church of Sant'Egidio Abate, dating back to the 12th century, in Romanesque style, with a nave and two aisles and a round apse, founded as a monastic priory of the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Santo and most probably built on a primitive church from the 8th century.
The religious monument, which has been remodelled several times over the centuries, has single-light windows with stone archivolt in a single block, which are precise features of Abruzzo architecture, 15th-century trusses and a façade rebuilt in 1524 with the erection of the bell tower ordered in 1555 by the Bishop of Ascoli.
Now move to Faraone Antico (or Vecchio), a small hamlet of Lombard origins, possession of various noble families, the most important and richest being the one belonged to the Ranalli barons. Enter the village, now uninhabited, from the ancient entrance gate dating back to those times, and admire the remains of the defensive walls, still well preserved.
Those who lived in the hamlet created a new nucleus, Faraone Nuovo, built near the early Christian church of San Vito.
You sit down at the table with your mouth watering because you read that the entire province of Teramo is a true empire of the senses. We recommend 'Scrippelle 'mbusse', crespelle made only with water, flour and eggs, sprinkled with grated cheese, rolled and dipped in hot meat broth, possibly chicken broth.
The 'mazzarelle' also deserve a special mention. These are lamb offal rolls wrapped in lettuce leaves, served plain or with a light tomato sauce. One cannot leave the table without trying the traditional 'pizza dogge', which was originally a wedding cake. Consider that, depending on the number of guests, the sponge cake was divided into as many as five layers. Inside, to your delight, you will find chocolate cream, pastry cream, almond paste and, as a topping, a white icing made from egg whites, butter and icing sugar. But there are no more than three layers.