After an overnight at the edge of Asissi, we travelled east into parts of Italy we have never seen: Le Marche, and Abruzzo. Our target this time was the town of Montedinove, where we hoped to see two apartments. The landscape along our drive was distinctively different from Tuscany. Heading west to east, it began with winding, and narrow valleys as we passed through the Appenine Mountains. We had an amusing stop in the town of Noccia, at the entrance to the “Parco Nazionali dei Monti Sibillini”. Popping in through the old town’s walls we were surprised by all the activity. Wandering further we began to see quirky storefronts decked elaborately with wild boar taxidermy, and all manner of other pig related stuff. The shops were bursting with smoked and processed pork products. We never did figure out exactly what the town was about, (and never encountered another non-Italian speaker), but our best guess was that this was the Italian answer to Estes Park, with pork shops substituted for the endless fudge shops of American tourist traps.
As we drove through the park and beyond, the valleys widened but were still very rolling with many steep hillsides. Most of the land was being actively cultivated, but unlike Tuscany, the slopes were not terraced. It was hard to imagine someone pulling a plow up and down these very steep slopes, but much of the area was obviously freshly plowed. It created an intriguing landscape that was both beautiful and like nothing we have seen before, anywhere.
The drive on to Montedinove took us into a very remote part of Abruzzo. Why there were two vacation rentals in this tiny little hill town in the middle of nowhere is a mystery, but if we wanted a quiet town for a base, this would fit the bill. The village was immaculate and well maintained…we wondered if portions of it had been re-built at some time, because the building materials were more modern than what we typically encounter. This village is probably not the place for us, but we still loved the fun of finding it, and are always happy for a reason to take the road less traveled.
Espresso in hand and planning the day.
To the east through the Apennines.
All hogs and nothing else.
The inside of all these shops pretty much looked the same.
Cute huntnick!
Cute decorations
A pick up soccer match in the town piazza.
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Trying to look at the countryside as I drove was tough to do.
Monte di Nove as a beautiful little town but just toooooo quiet.
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Not on the menu.
OK. Get me out of the car and on to Sicily!!