Abruzzo: sea, hills, mountains and town of art… all within a few kilometers.
Organized tours of the Gran Sasso, monti della laga and sibillini.
You can visit our hills area rich of history, charm and gastronomic local events.

Welcome to Alba Adriatica to discover the natural and historical beauties in Abruzzo.
The beach holiday in Alba Adriatica is a favorable occasion to know and visit amazing places.
The routes that we propose require, in some cases only a few hours of time, others require half a day to be enjoyed fully.
Require a full day, visit mountain aquilana and national park Gran Sasso and the national park Maiella where you proceed in the green heart of ‘Abruzzo.
Do not miss the visit to the celestine hermitages v.

AROUND

The national park of gran sasso and monti della laga is one of the largest in Italy; it covers approximately 160.000 hectares of 44 municipalities divided between the provinces of L’Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, Ascoli Piceno and Rieti.

The park is composed of 3 mountain groups: the Gran Sasso mountain, the massif of laga, the twin mountains and is characterized by the presence of the highest peak of Corno Grande (2912mt) where there is the last glacier of apennine mountains, the “calderone”.

The Gran Sasso chain is made up of limestone and dolomite that give to the mountain in the majestic appearance, with high walls and vertical not present in any other sector of the Apennines. The calcareous nature of the rocks favors the presence of karst phenomena such as sinkholes, caves and ravines dug by the waters, evident in Campo Imperatore, the largest plateau of the Apennines, at an altitude of 1600 meters. The laga mountains are made up of sandstone and marl and the peaks appear more rounded, with several cut valleys and profonde. The highest peak is made from mount Gozzano (2458 m.). The characteristic constitution of this mountain range is’ so that the water flows on the surface creating impetuous streams and creeks that descend to the valley forming dozens of beautiful waterfalls, among which are those of morricana. Within this park is the largest lake in the entire region, lake Campotosto, reservoir turned into the lake around the years 1930-1940. The whole territory of the park is characterized by a number of medieval villages that give the remarkable places suggestive; between all we remember that Roccacalascio with its castle is certainly one of the most characteristic. In the park there are more than 2000 species of plants. While the Gran Sasso is characterized, in particular in the Aquila side, to the large extent of pastures, the laga mountains are largely covered by forests.

The fauna

Fauna of the gran sasso national park.
The most interesting species of the park is represented by the Abruzzo chamois, ungulate exclusive of the Apennine mountains, which until the last century had its stronghold in the Gran Sasso.
In the park live other large herbivores such as deer and roe deer, and their main predator, the apennine wolf.
A protagonist is also the brown bear.
Other mammals are pine marten, wild cat, the badger, the faina, the skunk, porcupines and several other species of rodents.

There are also rare species such as the apennine wolf, the wild cat.

Among the birds of prey include the peregrine falcon, lanner falcon, the goshawk and golden eagles; while among the cave species, the alpine chough, chough, the woodpecker, and in the higher elevations finch mountain and the water pipit.
Among the amphibians, which are also popular, we point out three species of newt, the salamander, the italian cave salamander, the spectacled salamander.

The Gran Sasso and monti della laga national park is an european monument to biodiversity.

Flora and vegetation of the Gran Sasso national park.
In the park is home to over 2000 species of plants.
The remarkable richness and diversity of flora and vegetation to be found both in high altitudes that reach 3000 meters, in different geological substrate of the main mountain ranges. The most valuable component of the flora is one of the highest percentages, with several “wrecks” glacial nordic or oriental origin, coming from the eurasian steppes and the balkan mountains, and endemic plants that make the park one of the mediterranean areas of interest floristic, with high biological diversity.
Beeches, maples, linden, ash and elm trees lining mountain mountains.
There are also forests of white spruce and some birches.
One of the most significant species is the blueberry, common as anywhere else in the central Apennines.
Among cereals, lentils or cicerchie, it’s easy to find species that have disappeared in other agricultural areas, such as gittaione, the cornflower, common falcaria, ceratocefala, and finally the androsace that risks the extinction.

The craft

There are numerous and elaborate craftsmanship, tasty local food specialties and local folkloric expressions features that still survive.

In 44 towns and hundreds of villages park visitors will find popular demonstrations, crafts and unique food, products and objects.

Pride of craftsmanship are the potters of the Castelli, the master saddlers of L’Aquila, the coppersmiths of Tossicia, the stonecutters of Amatrice, the charcoal burners of Arquata del Tronto.
We recommend the events:

The “celestine pardon” in late August in L’Aquila.
The three-year historical commemoration of the “battle of Lepanto” to Spelonga.
The “summer laga-Gran Sasso” with international popular music.
The “amiternum” program, folk music and folklore.
The splendid pageants to the bourbon fortress of Civitella del Tronto.
The “festival of spaghetti amatriciana” in Amatrice, August.
The traditional “festival of the lentils” of S. Stefano di Sessanio in September.
The “wine festival” in Castiglione a Casauria.
The prehistoric ritual of “christmas fire” in Nerito of Crognaleto.
The “living nativity” year-end in Cerqueto.
The cross-country march of Campo Imperatore in February.