Skiing in Abruzzo – snow report
The most popular ski resorts, the updated snow report and useful information on how to find lifts or book accommodation for your winter holiday
By car
Getting there
- From the A14: Vasto Sud exit for Cupello and Monteodorisio, Vasto Nord for Scerni and Gissi.
- Into the mountains: the SS 86 Istonia climbs from Vasto towards Gissi, Carunchio and Castiglione Messer Marino; from there you reach Schiavi di Abruzzo.
- Without a car: Vasto has a station on the Adriatic line and TUA buses; for the inland villages a car is best.
The village
Castiglione Messer Marino 1,081 m
Altitude
1,081 m
Municipality
Castiglione Messer Marino
A mountain village on the border with Molise, along the old sheep track, with its main street paved in river stone and the remains of the castle on the cliff side. Its territory includes the Abetina di Selva Grande fir wood and, on the highest summit, the little figure-of-eight Lago la Croce.
Things to do
- The Italic temples of Schiavi di Abruzzo
- The fortified village of Carunchio
- The Abetina di Rosello fir forest
Did you know? The parents of Juan Manuel Fangio, five-time Formula 1 world champion, emigrated from here: their family home and a 2023 sculpture remember him. At Carnival the Castiglione ‘maschera’ stops in six squares for short plays.
Local food
- Ventricina del Vastese salami — Large pieces of pork with sweet pepper, in a pig’s bladder: a Slow Food Presidium.
- Sagne e ceci (pasta with chickpeas) — Homemade flour-and-water pasta cut into pieces and cooked with chickpeas: a humble, tasty mountain first course.
- Pallotte cacio e ova — Meatless balls of bread, eggs and cheese, fried and then simmered in tomato sauce.
Useful numbers
- Municipality of Castiglione Messer Marino: 0873 978831
- Emergencies and mountain rescue: 112 · 118
- municipality website
Where to eat in Castiglione Messer Marino
- Trattorias and restaurants in Castiglione Messer Marino: search on TripAdvisor
The village
Schiavi di Abruzzo 1,172 m
Altitude
1,172 m
Municipality
Schiavi di Abruzzo
A mountain village on the river Sente, on the border with Molise, in the land of the ancient Samnites. In the hamlet of Taverna you can visit the Italic temples, two sanctuaries from the 3rd century BC onwards; the Archaeological Museum keeps the finds from the excavations.
Things to do
- Castiglione Messer Marino and Fangio
- The fortified village of Carunchio
- Ventricina from the Vasto area
Did you know? At Carnival the ‘Mazzoroni’, the village’s traditional masks, come out, and people dance the ‘Spallata’, a traditional dance of the Alto Vastese and Molise.
Local food
- Ventricina del Vastese salami — Large pieces of pork with sweet pepper, in a pig’s bladder: a Slow Food Presidium.
- Sagne e ceci (pasta with chickpeas) — Homemade flour-and-water pasta cut into pieces and cooked with chickpeas: a humble, tasty mountain first course.
- Lamb with egg and lemon — Lamb stew finished with egg and lemon, the Easter dish of L’Aquila.
Useful numbers
- Municipality of Schiavi di Abruzzo: 0873 970121
- Emergencies and mountain rescue: 112 · 118
- municipality website
Where to eat in Schiavi di Abruzzo
- Trattorias and restaurants in Schiavi di Abruzzo: search on TripAdvisor
The village
Carunchio 714 m
Altitude
714 m
Municipality
Carunchio
A fortified village built in rings around the castle, of which ruins remain: wall-houses, covered passages and the Porta Coluccia gate. The bell tower of the church of San Giovanni Battista was originally a castle lookout tower.
Things to do
Did you know? Among the village churches there is also an early-20th-century Protestant evangelical church, a rarity in Abruzzo’s villages.
Local food
- Ventricina del Vastese salami — Large pieces of pork with sweet pepper, in a pig’s bladder: a Slow Food Presidium.
- Pallotte cacio e ova — Meatless balls of bread, eggs and cheese, fried and then simmered in tomato sauce.
- Sagne e ceci (pasta with chickpeas) — Homemade flour-and-water pasta cut into pieces and cooked with chickpeas: a humble, tasty mountain first course.
Useful numbers
- Municipality of Carunchio: 0873 954392
- Emergencies and mountain rescue: 112 · 118
- municipality website
Where to eat in Carunchio
- Trattorias and restaurants in Carunchio: search on TripAdvisor
The village
Palmoli 711 m
Altitude
711 m
Municipality
Palmoli
A hilltop village around the marquis’s castle, with a 16th-century twelve-sided tower; one wing houses the Museum of Rural Life and the Abandoned Castles of the Vasto area, with archaeological finds and an ethnological section.
Things to do
Did you know? The patron saint is Saint Valentine, celebrated on 14 February; in July come the feasts of the Madonna del Carmine. In the kitchen: ‘sagne pezzate’ with asparagus and ventricina, here called ‘viscica’.
Local food
- Ventricina del Vastese salami — Large pieces of pork with sweet pepper, in a pig’s bladder: a Slow Food Presidium.
- Sagne e ceci (pasta with chickpeas) — Homemade flour-and-water pasta cut into pieces and cooked with chickpeas: a humble, tasty mountain first course.
- Lamb with egg and lemon — Lamb stew finished with egg and lemon, the Easter dish of L’Aquila.
Useful numbers
- Municipality of Palmoli: 0873 955121
- Emergencies and mountain rescue: 112 · 118
- municipality website
Where to eat in Palmoli
- Angolo dei Capricci (pizzeria e bar) Via San Nicola, 14, Palmoli · 347 510 7109
- Trattorias and restaurants in Palmoli: search on TripAdvisor
The village
Gissi 499 m
Altitude
499 m
Municipality
Gissi
A village on a hill between the Ferrato and Morgitella streams, in the Sinello valley, among orchards, vineyards and small woods; its name comes from gypsum, like Gessopalena. The compact village is graced by Palazzo Carunchio; the medieval castle survives only in the name of Via Salita Castello.
Things to do
Did you know? For the feast of Saint Lucy the faithful walk in procession to the little church in the Santa Lucia pine wood.
Local food
- Ventricina del Vastese salami — Large pieces of pork with sweet pepper, in a pig’s bladder: a Slow Food Presidium.
- Pallotte cacio e ova — Meatless balls of bread, eggs and cheese, fried and then simmered in tomato sauce.
- Sagne e ceci (pasta with chickpeas) — Homemade flour-and-water pasta cut into pieces and cooked with chickpeas: a humble, tasty mountain first course.
Useful numbers
- Municipality of Gissi: 0873 93412
- Emergencies and mountain rescue: 112 · 118
- municipality website
Where to eat in Gissi
- Trattorias and restaurants in Gissi: search on TripAdvisor
The village
Scerni 281 m
Altitude
281 m
Municipality
Scerni
A village of olive oil, wine and ventricina in the hills of the Vasto area; the Antenucci castle keeps two square battered towers from the old walls. The church of San Panfilo, already mentioned in the 14th century, has an organ in a wooden case above the entrance.
Things to do
- The Bosco di Don Venanzio at Pollutri
- Ventricina from the Vasto area
- The sea at Casalbordino and Vasto
Did you know? The festival calendar is busy: San Panfilo on 28 April, the Madonna della Strada on 15 August and San Rocco on 16 August; in August there is also a snail festival.
Local food
- Ventricina del Vastese salami — Large pieces of pork with sweet pepper, in a pig’s bladder: a Slow Food Presidium.
- Pallotte cacio e ova — Meatless balls of bread, eggs and cheese, fried and then simmered in tomato sauce.
- Cavatelli and tacconelle — Homemade pastas of the Chieti area, with meat sauce or with pulses.
Useful numbers
- Municipality of Scerni: 0873 919125
- Emergencies and mountain rescue: 112 · 118
- municipality website
Where to eat in Scerni
- Trattorias and restaurants in Scerni: search on TripAdvisor
The village
Monteodorisio 315 m
Altitude
315 m
Municipality
Monteodorisio
On the highest point of the rock stands the d’Avalos castle, built as a Norman fort: it houses the Museum of the Economy from Antiquity to the Renaissance and a Franciscan documentation centre. At the edge of the village is the shrine of the Madonna delle Grazie, linked to miraculous events in 1886.
Things to do
Did you know? Among the local sweets is the ‘purciullate’, a dark sweet bread that opens like a flower in the middle; older people dip it in vino cotto.
Local food
- Ventricina del Vastese salami — Large pieces of pork with sweet pepper, in a pig’s bladder: a Slow Food Presidium.
- Pallotte cacio e ova — Meatless balls of bread, eggs and cheese, fried and then simmered in tomato sauce.
- Brodetto alla vastese — Vasto’s fish stew with sweet pepper, cooked in an earthenware pan without stirring.
Useful numbers
- Municipality of Monteodorisio: 0873 316131
- Emergencies and mountain rescue: 112 · 118
- municipality website
Where to eat in Monteodorisio
- Trattorias and restaurants in Monteodorisio: search on TripAdvisor
The village
Cupello 380 m
Altitude
380 m
Municipality
Cupello
A hill village a few kilometres from Vasto, on the Lanciano–Cupello sheep track, with fortified palaces such as Palazzo Erminio Boschetti and its belvedere turret. The patron saint is Saint Roch, whose painted wooden statue is in the church of the Nativity of Mary.
Things to do
Did you know? In the 1950s, after gas was discovered, the village saw protests and the occupation of the ‘Cupello 2’ well against sending the gas outside Abruzzo.
Local food
- Brodetto alla vastese — Vasto’s fish stew with sweet pepper, cooked in an earthenware pan without stirring.
- Scapece alla vastese — Fried fish marinated in vinegar with saffron, kept in wooden tubs.
- Ventricina del Vastese salami — Large pieces of pork with sweet pepper, in a pig’s bladder: a Slow Food Presidium.
Useful numbers
- Municipality of Cupello: 0873 316834
- Nature reserve Punta Aderci: 085 827 9489
- Emergencies and mountain rescue: 112 · 118
- municipality website
Where to eat in Cupello
- Trattorias and restaurants in Cupello: search on TripAdvisor
At the table
Food and traditions
Local dishes and products, with the recipes and guides on our site.
The Alto Vastese is the land of ventricina, the spicy salami cured in a pig’s bladder. On the coast, brodetto and scapece Vasto-style; inland, sagne with chickpeas, cheese-and-egg balls and lamb; and the olive oil of the Vasto hills.
- Ventricina del Vastese salami — Large pieces of pork with sweet pepper, in a pig’s bladder: a Slow Food Presidium.
- Brodetto alla vastese — Vasto’s fish stew with sweet pepper, cooked in an earthenware pan without stirring.
- Scapece alla vastese — Fried fish marinated in vinegar with saffron, kept in wooden tubs.
- Sagne e ceci (pasta with chickpeas) — Homemade flour-and-water pasta cut into pieces and cooked with chickpeas: a humble, tasty mountain first course.
- Pallotte cacio e ova — Meatless balls of bread, eggs and cheese, fried and then simmered in tomato sauce.
- Lamb with egg and lemon — Lamb stew finished with egg and lemon, the Easter dish of L’Aquila.
- Cavatelli and tacconelle — Homemade pastas of the Chieti area, with meat sauce or with pulses.
- Colline Teatine PDO olive oil — The extra virgin oil of the Chieti hills, between the Majella and the sea, from the Gentile di Chieti olive.
- Trebbiano d’Abruzzo DOC — Abruzzo’s classic white, with fish, vegetables and mushroom dishes.