Overview
Spending a spring or summer day on the banks of turquoise lakes among poplar, white willow and elder woods is one of the possibilities offered by the Scafa area, in the province of Pescara, on the southern side of the river of the same name.
This oasis of peace is called the Lavino Park, from the name of the river that crosses it after a journey on the northern side of the Maiella, from which it originates. ts sulfur springs give the area, which covers 40 hectares, a wonderful colour with all shades of blue, which conveys relaxation and well-being.
These are holiday waters, but also laborious ones, which in the past were used to drive the blades of a 16th century mill, the Farnese Mill, which you can admire on a walk along the river, to drive the turbine of a hydroelectric power station in recent times, or to irrigate the surrounding agricultural fields through the construction of canals and barriers.
To reach the park from Scafa in the hamlet of Decontra, follow a lane that takes you to the unfenced area, with facilities and games for children and with wooden tables and benches for an outdoor picnic, where you can also spend some time observing the birds that populate it, such as kingfishers, yellow wagtails and moorhens.
We invite you to explore another green lung to breathe, the oasis of Lake Alanno - Piano d'Orta: an area of around 160 hectares, established in 2002 between the municipalities of Alanno, Bolognano, Scafa and Torre de' Passeri, and managed by the WWF. Here, enjoy taking photos of the water iris specimens, the symbol of the area, that populate the landscape.
In Scafa, admire the church of the Madonna del Carmelo, with its rustic facade made of various stones and the brick portal with three sloping bands in which, in the lunette, a Madonna with the souls of Purgatory, in polychrome ceramic, stands out.
Elegant in the town centre are the Town Hall, of modern architecture with its travertine-clad façade, and the brick Civic Tower.
For lunch, expect a 'cascade' of arrosticini made exclusively by hand with the sheep's meat and fat cut into cubes and threaded onto 'sticks', in a harmonious balance of fat and lean meat.
Also try those with liver and onion, a delicious variation on a now-classic theme that has crossed the Abruzzo borders to end up even in Chinese dishes.
Once tasted, you can't do without them because, like cherries, one pulls the other.