With over 119 thousand inhabitants , Pescara is the most populous city in Abruzzo. During the Second World War most of its urban center was destroyed, and it is for this reason that today it boasts a mostly modern aspect, the result of the reconstruction that was necessary after the bombings.
Pescara can boast a sandy shoreline of almost 7 kilometers, and includes two wooded areas of great interest, the Pineta di Santa Filomena and the Pineta Dannunziana.
The cuisine of Pescara
The Pescara cuisine is above all a seafood cuisine, as demonstrated by the fish soup served on slices of bread, with garlic and fresh chilli, or monkfish alla cacciatora. Among the typical dishes there are also the broth of mussels and clams and the fried fish, consisting of fried sardines, mullets and cod. Still, it is worth trying the scrippelle and maccheroni alla chitarra, but especially the pecorara rings seasoned with sheep’s milk ricotta.
The skewers they are common in Pescara as in the rest of Abruzzo, while tajarille with beans or chickpeas are a typical example of a poor but tasty dish. On the streets of Pescara it is easy to come across kiosks or markets that sell porchetta, while for those who love sweets you cannot help but taste the cicerchiata, the parrozzo (with dark chocolate and chopped almonds) and the cacionetti.
How to get to Pescara
To get to Pescara by train you can refer to the Pescara Centrale station, which is located along the high-speed line that connects Milan with Lecce and which allows you to arrive in the Abruzzo city from Turin, Venice, Bologna, Brindisi and Bari. In addition, the Trenitalia regional trains offer connections with L’Aquila, Sulmona and Avezzano, while the Sangritana is the regional railway company that allows you to reach Pescara from Lanciano.
L’ Pescara airport , on the other hand, it guarantees a connection with the Pescara Centrale station for a journey of about ten minutes. Finally, if you wish to arrive in Pescara by car, you can take the Pescara Ovest Chieti exit from the A14 or the Chieti Pescara exit from the A25.
The museums of Pescara
The museum of Gabriele D’Annunzio’s birthplace is worth a visit, not only because it has been a national monument for almost a century. Here the poet was born, and today objects belonging to him can be observed. Villa Urania, on the other hand, is the seat of the Paparella Braid Devlet Museum , which houses several Castelli majolica dating back to the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
Again, here is the Vittorio Colonna Museum of Modern Art, with a temporary exhibition of works by the likes of Renato Guttuso, Joan Mirò and Pablo Picasso, while the Museum of the people of Abruzzo allows you to see finds from local history up close. Finally, the old Palace of Justice houses the Mediamuseum , and the Pineta Dannunziana welcomes Aurum – The factory of ideas, in the former seat of the distillery of the homonymous liqueur.
The natural areas
Between Pescara and Montesilvano develops the nature reserve of the Pineta di Santa Filomena, which for more than 40 years has housed a shelter for birds of prey, while to the south of Pescara there is the Pineta Dannunziana, which extends for over 50 hectares; it is also known by the name of Pineta D’Avalos, taking its name from the family that had the marquisate of Pescara in the Bourbon era.
To stroll in Pescara in the middle of the green you can also attend the parks of Villa Sabucchi and Villa De Riseis , as well as the Parco Colle del Telegrafo, which ensures a panoramic view of the whole city.
The monuments
There Cathedral of San Cetteo it is one of the most important monuments of Pescara, and was designed by Cesare Bazzani at the request of Gabriele D’Annunzio, whose mother is buried right here. In the center there is the Church of the Sacred Heart, built in Romanesque style in the second half of the nineteenth century, while the Basilica of the Madonna of the Seven Sorrows is in baroque and neoclassical style, built in the place where, according to tradition, the Virgin appeared to shepherds.
To see, then, the governament Palace , with its white stone facade and the decorations made by Guido Costanzo with bas-reliefs depicting the sea, agriculture, the mine and the river, that is the resources of the city.
The feasts of Pescara
Every year in July in Pescara the Regatta of the Gonfaloni , a competition between boats that face each other along the Pescara river. The first Sunday in June, on the other hand, is the turn of the feast of the Madonna dei Sette Dolori, and the feast of the patron saint San Cetteo is celebrated on the first Sunday in July.
Still, it is part of the local tradition there feast of St. Andrew the Apostle , with the procession at sea as evidence of the devotion shown by the fishermen.