Our morning started with an early departure from our lovely b&b and a taxi to the car rental office. We drove east out of Rome toward the Abruzzo region--a mountainous region off the tourist map. The city of L'Aquila was hit hard by an earthquake in 2009 but it was a city I have wanted to visit since we were in Italy in 2007.
The church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio
The inside of the church was collapsed and pillars were being held up by straps. Notice the space heaters--this is high in the mountains and very cold. I can't imagine what it is like going to church here!
Driving through the mountains of Abruzzo
When we reach the Adriatic coast, we turned north to enter the Marche region. This region is even more untouched by international tourists than Abruzzo. Some people refer to it as "Tuscany without tourists". Tuscany is just on the other side of the mountains so the geography is very similar. The biggest difference in the two regions, in my opinion, are the prices of lodging and food.
We rented an apartment at
Olio di Vino, an agriturismo (a working farm). The farmhouse was very old (I can't remember how old, but several centuries)
The apartment was very spacious and a lot more than I expected.
We ate dinner at a local restaurant that night and came home to build a fire in the fireplace to keep us warm!
To see all our photos from Day 4 click
here
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