Sports Car Tour Abruzzo: A Mosaic of Roads in the Heart of the Apennines
Abruzzo is a region that is truly difficult to describe in just a few lines, simply because it is never the same. The landscape keeps changing kilometer after kilometer, offering a proper mosaic that feels like it was composed by blending the memories of our past road trips. One moment you are driving through thick forests that remind you of Tuscany’s Vallombrosa, the next you catch glimpses that look stolen from the French Alps, before opening up onto endless fields of wheat.
People had been recommending this region to us for a long time, and in the end, we finally organized this sports car tour in Abruzzo.
Day 1: The Many Faces of Maiella and the Altopiano delle Cinque Miglia
We set off on Friday morning, and the first roads heading toward the Maiella massif immediately threw a surprise our way. The tarmac on that stretch was particularly slippery, and we found ourselves getting a bit “sideways” through the very first corners…
Passo San Leonardo welcomed us with beautifully vast open spaces, before leading smoothly into Passo Lanciano. For lunch, we reached the Maielletta viewpoint: being able to eat high up in the mountains while your gaze travels all the way to the sea is a kind of magic that only Abruzzo can deliver.
In the afternoon, the landscape shifted dramatically once again. We crossed the Altopiano delle Cinque Miglia, an incredibly long straight line immersed in a scenery that has an almost Western-movie feel. Since the sun and the heat were hitting hard (especially for those driving convertibles or cars without air conditioning!), returning to the hotel at the end of the day was pure bliss, made perfect by a well-deserved dip in the pool for the whole group.
Day 2: Gran Sasso, Arrosticini, and Villages Suspended in Time
Saturday began by taking on Passo delle Capannelle, a truly pleasant road to drive smoothly and effortlessly. After a quick coffee stop by Lake Campotosto, we headed straight toward the Gran Sasso massif.
Climbing up toward Campo Imperatore is a unique experience—there is a reason why they call it Italy’s “Little Tibet”. Endless spaces, grazing flocks, and an absolute sense of peace. This tour was so visually stunning that, for once, I completely enjoyed the day playing the passenger princess: watching these landscapes roll past the window was a proper show. And of course, you cannot drive all the way up there without stopping to eat the authentic Abruzzese arrosticini!
Santo Stefano di Sessanio and the Bends of Popoli
After filling both our eyes and our stomachs, we took a cultural break at Santo Stefano di Sessanio. Walking all the way up those stone stairs was a bit of a workout, but it was absolutely worth it. Discovering these hidden, remote gems makes you fall in love with Italy all over again: you realize that sometimes the simplest things are the most authentic, and that we often take the extraordinary richness of our territory for granted.
Back in the cars, we drove right beneath the scenic fortress of Rocca Calascio, before heading toward the road of the historic Cronoscalata di Popoli hillclimb. This ribbon of tarmac is so fun and beautiful to drive that we simply couldn’t resist: we drove it uphill in the morning and then came back in the afternoon to do it all over again downhill!
An “Unforgettable” Soundtrack
Every single one of our tours always comes with a funny anecdote to tell, because after all, we gather to have fun. On Saturday evening, the hotel prepared a beautiful dinner by the pool for us. Providing the background music was a live singer… and let’s just say that by the end of the night, none of us had yet figured out what language she was singing in!
What we do is “tourism on wheels,” and we are always incredibly happy when, at the end of a weekend, we head home with a suitcase packed with beautiful memories. Abruzzo came highly recommended, and now we can proudly say it too: it is definitely a destination for true Delightful Drivers.
