Pescara – The Less You Know About Italy, the More You Enjoy It

A short while ago I had the chance to spend a week end in Pescara, an Italian town facing the Adriatic Sea. The region of Abruzzo did not welcome me very well: on my first day here I had the feeling I had never left home, since the rain was heavy and endless as in my beloved Turin. But in the next days Pescara had its revanche and showed me how, also in autumn, a random stay can become a summer dream of sea, sun and beach.

One can not say Pescara is among the top Italian holiday destinations, but I found myself surprised by many unexpected pleasures. And that’s what I want to share here, what I really did not know about this city. Because travelling allows ignorance, and sometimes the more you did not know, the more you are going to like your destination.

So here is my very personal list of ‘what I did not know about Pescara‘, in strictly random order.

Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy

About Pescara, I did not know that leaving the city centre just behind you and going out on the terrace in the evening, you can hear the cicadas and see the fireflies. And, believe me, for a city dweller as me that is quite a thing.

I did not know that in Pescara you can find the best arrosticini in the world, a kind of goat meat served on a skewer which require a specific technique to be savoured at their best: there is the right way to hold the skewer, the right way to pull the meat and do not even dream of using the fork, if you do not want to get in trouble with the locals!

I did not know that so many people, especially north Italians, have trouble in finding Pescara on the map. Truly, my mother still believes I was in Marche, and not in Abruzzo.

Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy

I did not know that an artwork was realized to enrich the main square, and that the same piece of work travelled on the news after it exploded. I am talking about the ‘Huge Wine Glass‘ by Japanese architect Toyo Ito, a huge glass sculpture which shattered in pieces because of the thermic excursion.

I did not know that you can go on the beach all year long. So if you happen to walk on the seaside in winter you might find some young and less young people running barefooted after a ball, and trying to score in an improvised goal.

Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy

I did not know that to move around all you need to know are three streets: the seaside road and its parallels. Once you get it, you are free to go anywhere!

I did not know that you can also ski, in Abruzzo. And that in Pescara sea and mountains are so close that you can speed down on the snow while gazing at the blue Adriatic Sea.

I did not know there was a pedestrian bridge called Ponte del Mare (‘Sea Bridge’), which actually crosses a river. And if you ask anyone about it, they will tell you you can see the sea from here.

Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy

I did not know that street food pizza in Pescara is not in pieces, like in my Turin, but round small pizzas. And they are incredibly delicious!

And finally, visiting Pescara with the locals, I made the most beautiful discovery: they call themselves country people, but are deeply in love with their town, they are proud of it and often, even if they move away for work or study reasons, they come back to live here. Because here ‘is like anywhere else in the world’.

Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy

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I live in Turin, which I deeply love, but still I often feel the need to leave and explore new fantastic places. I believe travelling to be an art and the traveller with most curiosity and creativity will be able to find the most marvellous paths.

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