Our last full day in Abruzzo started with an exciting drive up a mountain gorge to the picturesque town of Scanno, encircled by the Magella mountains. The road up the gorge is narrow and winding. The trip is made even more exciting because of some of the other traffic on the road. This bit of the road is straighter and wider than most of it.

Scanno is known as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, something that we can all attest to.

It was a clear day, with a bit of a chill in the air. Scanno is at an elevation of over 1000 meters, which probably contributed to the stunning blue sky that day.

Scanno is one of the growing number of villages in Abruzzo that are trying to preserve their unique heritage. We were given a tour of one of the oldest jewelers in the area. In this next picture, our guide Vincenzo tells us about the traditional costumes worn by the local women.

Inside the shop, Philippe provided translation and explained how a certain aspect of the women’s dresses was referred to as “the sideboard”. Perhaps for another day…

The detailed filigree work in the local jewelry was absolutely amazing.

After the jewelry shop, Vincenzo gave us a tour through the town sharing his wealth of knowledge. All the while, some of the local “citizens” were keeping an eye on us.

The air was crisp and we took every opportunity to sit in the warm sun.

While walking around the village, we saw a man coming up the street wearing a “Canada” hoodie, so we had to say hi. He didn’t speak English, but with help from Vincenzo, we learned that he had visited Winnipeg seven times in the past few years for radiology treatment. Barry and Gloria are from Winnipeg, very near the hospital he visited, so we had to take a picture.

We also visited a tiny shop on a side street making the most amazing biscotti. The wonderful smell filled the surrounding street.

It’s interesting to see how every bit of space is put to good use. This was a tiny fresh fruit set up on a stand and on a stairway.

After our tour, we drove down the gorge to have a picnic lunch prepared by Angela. The lunch was fabulous, as always with Angela.

We were overwhelmed by the selection of food on the table. And when we sat down, even more food appeared. This is Angela’s famous lasagna. It is made with homemade lasagna noodles, which are thinner than commercial noodles, which makes it possible to have nine layers in the lasagna. It is unlike anything you have ever tasted.

On warm days, the picnic is outdoors, but today it was hosted inside in a building that had been the local school. Just behind the school, these steps had been carved into the rock. Once again, I’m sure there is a story here.

There are several small lakes in the gorge, and the colours of the water are amazing.

We took another group photo near one of the lakes. Phillipe photo-bombed the shot.

Near the bottom of the gorge was another amazing hilltop village. One of many.

Then it was back to the Baron’s Estate, where we were treated to a surprise. We had a concert in the wine cellar at the villa with a local group playing traditional Abruzzo sheppard songs. Some of them are quite raunchy.

And finally, it was time for our last supper of the week. It’s truffle season in Abruzzo and we were treated to tagliatelle with fresh truffle slices on top. Words cannot describe the aroma, so I’m not going to even try.

We finished with a cheese cake with chestnuts.

All of the staff at The Amazing Abruzzo were fantastic, but if we had to single out one person it would be Daria. Her smile and good humor greeted us most mornings and evenings. She made us feel like family.

We had an amazing week, and hope to return.