is a region of central
Italy bordering
Marche to the north,
Lazio to the west and south-west,
Molise to the south-east and the
Adriatic Sea to the east. Until 1963 it was part of the ''
Abruzzi E Molise '' region (with Molise). The term ''Abruzzi'' is an obsolete plural denomination from a time when the
Bourbons administered the territory as ''Closer Abruzzo'' and ''Further Abruzzo''.
The regional capital is (the largest),
Teramo ,
Chieti (the most populous) and
Pescara , Abruzzo's main economic centre. The four provinces are further divided into 305 municipalities. Abruzzo has a population of around 1.3 million.
The official dialect for Abruzzo, which is rarely spoken there now is one of the most difficult Italian dialects. It is comprised of words from languages spoken around Europe especially in the late 1800s to the early 1900s.
The region covers 10,794
Km² almost two-thirds of which is mountainous. The remainder of the land consists of hills sloping to a narrow plain that runs for most of the 129 kilometre long
Adriatic coastline. The
Apennine mountain chain runs through the Abruzzo and high points are the Gran Sasso (2914m) and the Maiella Massif (2795m). The main rivers are the Aterno-Pescara, the Sangro and the Tronto.
One third of the region is designated as national or regional park. The following parks lie, wholly or partially, within Abruzzo:
The protected areas are environmentally important and are home to rare flora and fauna, such as the
Brown Bear , the
Wolf and the
Chamois .
The region is rich in natural beauties and history, but is only just starting to be discovered by mass tourism. Abruzzo's wealth of castles and medieval towns, especially near the town of
L'Aquila has earned it in some quarters the nickname of "Abruzzoshire", by analogy with the "Chiantishire" nickname sometimes used to refer to the
Chianti area of
Tuscany .
Some towns in Abruzzo include
L'Aquila ,
Chieti ,
Pescara ,
Teramo ,
Vasto ,
Avezzano ,
Giulianova ,
Sulmona ,
Lanciano ,
Montesilvano ,
Francavilla Al Mare ,
Roseto ,
Penne ,
Castel Di Sangro and, smaller in size,
Capestrano ,
Lettomanopello ,
Tortoreto ,
Alba Adriatica ,
Pescasseroli ,
Collelongo ,
Villavallelonga ,
Gissi ,
Rocca Di Mezzo near
Campo Felice , a ski resort in the
Gran Sasso Mountains,
Ovindoli , another ski resort near the
Velino mountain,
Roccaraso , the first ski resort in South-Central Italy located near
Castel Di Sangro and
San Benedetto in
Perillis .
For a complete listing of all those with Wikipedia articles, see .
