Pope Celestine V didn’t much like the glitz and glamour of the Papacy. In 1294 he issued a decree allowing Popes to abdicate, and after only five months ‘the desire for humility, for a purer life’ pushed him to return to his hermit’s life on the rugged Mount Maiella in Abruzzo.

Not a bad spot to find tranquility, especially in November.

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Last November my parents, in their eighties, drove their three fifty-plus children a hundred and twenty miles east from Rome to the Casa Giumentina, a carefully restored stone house on the hillside above the village of Abbateggio, with views over Mount Maiella and the Adriatic.

Casa Giumentina

Like Celestine, the owners, Ezio and Mariangela, got fed up with city life, and followed their dream.

But their B&B is rather more comfortable than his cave. Not a detail has been overlooked: even the curtains are hand-crocheted by Mariangela. Ezio and Mariangela shared breakfast with us each day, and took us to visit the surrounding area, from the hermitages nestled on the hillsides to the mountain village of Roccacaramanico where until recently only one inhabitant remained. We played in the snow.

We sampled local wines, cheeses and farro, the local cereal.

Local Cheese

We visited Pacentro, which apart from being Madonna’s ancestral home, is one of the ‘borghi piú belli d’Italia’ – Italy’s most beautiful towns.

Pacentro

We went to Sulmona, Italy’s centre for confetti, the sugared almonds offered traditionally at weddings and christenings.

Confetti in Sulmona

We explored the tholos, stone structures built in the nineteenth century by shepherds as shelters.

And in the evenings, we relaxed in the large kitchen at the Casa Giumentina, a group of villagers from Abbateggio joined us, including the mayor. We played cards and sang songs while Ezio and my father strummed their guitar and mandolin.

The mayor is a dynamic young man, hell-bent on putting his 450-people-strong village on the map. He is determined to maintain local traditions, but to share the area’s rich heritage with visitors.

If you want a holiday with a difference, a real Italian experience away from the crowds, this is where it's at. Go on, try it.

View from Casa Giumentina

www.casagiumentina.it
Ryanair flies from London to Pescara, which is less than an hour’s drive from the Casa Giumentina