Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tourist Office
( 0864 64 14 40; Vico delle Carceri; 9am-1pm & 3-6pm Mon-Fri Sep-Jun, 9am-1pm
& 4-7pm daily Jul & Aug)
Off the central Piazza del Municipio. Also see the Parco Nazionale
della Majella's comprehensive website (
www.parcomajella.it
)
.
Getting There & Away
Buses run from Sulmona to Pescocostanzo (€4, one hour, three daily) via Castel di San-
gro, and to Campo di Giove (€2.30, 45 minutes, three daily).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Scanno
POP 1990
A tangle of steep alleyways and sturdy, grey-stone houses, Scanno is a dramatic and atmo-
spheric medieval
borgo,
known for its finely worked filigree gold jewellery. For centuries
a centre of wool production, it is one of the few places in Italy where you can still see wo-
men wearing traditional dress - especially during the week-long
costume festival
(
www.costumediscanno.org
)
held at the end of April. The somewhat sombre but imposing cos-
tumes were famously photographed by Cartier Bresson in 1951. They comprise a full
black skirt and bodice with puffed sleeves, a headdress of braided fabric topped with an
angular cap, and filigree jewellery including star-shaped charms, given as betrothal gifts
by shepherds before they departed on the long
transhumanza
(sheep migration).
Be sure to take the exhilarating drive up to Scanno from Sulmona through the rocky
Gole di Sagittario
, a WWF reserve and gorge, and past tranquil Lago di Scanno. Here
there's a scattering of bars and cafes, and you can hire boats in summer.
