Saturday 1st June

Today we were up very early, (for us) at 6.30 a.m. for a 7.30 a.m. departure for the TransIberiana d’Italia historic train ride. I will write much more about this train later and just confine this to the events of the day.

We took off on time and took the autostrada to Sulmona and then on to the Central Station a little way outside the town. We arrived early but the station was already buzzing with passengers waiting to board the train.

The train which has six vintage carriages built in the 1920’s and 1930’s and is pulled by a large Diesel engine is very impressive. The carriages are called ‘Centoporte’ because on the train there are 100 doors to enter and leave the train. MAC thought that the guy describing these had called them ‘Centomorte’ or’100 dead’!! And managed to make up some strange reason for the name!! It was not until we got back and read the leaflet that we realized the mistake. The coaches had been used for many things over the years, military, moving immigrants from Naples to Abruzzo and general passenger use.

The train left and we passed through magnificent scenery with glimpses of Gran Sasso and the surrounding mountains as the train winds it way up to the summit on this trip of over 1,200 meters above sea level. The first stop was at Cansano where we disembarked for a short walk towards the town. We did not have the time to get the whole way. Then it was on to Campo di Giove where the stay was longer and we walked into town where there was a small market selling local produce such as jams, wooden items, cheese, etc. We took a walk around the historic part of town, bought a couple of items at the market and then retired to a cafe for cappucino’s and the use of the bathroom. Then we walked back to the train and reboarded for the onward journey to the next stop which was Palena. Here the platform of the station was crowded with food sellers, selling arosticini, fried dough products, paninis, wine and other items. Inside the waiting hall there were crafts, other food products including honey, prosciutto, sausage, etc. We had a panini which was excellent and MAC lined up to get our tickets for the walking tour at the next stop which was Pescoconstanzo a very picturesque town rated one of the most beautiful in Italy.

After a while, the train moved on again and we arrived at Pescoconstanzo where we disembarked. The train would go on to Roccaraso where it would turn and come back to pick us up after our tour.

We boarded a bus and it took us to the town center. ere we were divided into groups and we were sent to get something to eat which we did a a small restaurant called the ‘Four Brothers’. As neither we nor the other visitors had much timbre we had to rush the poor proprietor with our order. We had a couple of pasta dishes and paid the bill and left. So did many of the other diners. It was a bit disappointing for the poor restaurant owner that so many had come and gone in so short a time.

By the time we got outside, the rain had started. We met the guide who started the tour as the rain increased. We visited the large main church, details of which will follow. The guide spoke in Italian so I missed much of the detail with MAC filling me in as best she could. There were numerous mysteries about the church especially the provenance of some of the artwork.

Leaving the church, the rain had set in quite hard and a very nice family offered us one of their umbrellas as we had failed to bring ours!! This was very kind of them indeed.

We moved on to the museum where the incredibly detailed and beautiful lacework typical of the town was displayed as well as some ironwork which was also a feature of the town’s craftsmen. There was also a display of items which can be exchanged between men and women during courting and matrimony. They contain some secret codes. They are called La Presentosa.

From an internet site:

"The Presentosa is a necklace in gold or silver that traditionally the man, as a boyfriend or a husband or father, gave to the woman. In fact, the jewel is characterized by a typical star shape that contains one or two hearts placed on a filigree lace. The pendant with a single heart was given by the father to the unmarried daughters, the one with two hearts to the girlfriends in the pledge of marriage and the one with two hearts with a half-moon to his wife by the husband.



Even today the Presentosa is created by the orphaned Abruzzese artists with the same procedure of the past: weaving one by one a double metal wire and creating refined and precious filigrees. Alongside the characteristic hearts in the center of the Presentosa, other symbols have been added over time, such as the boat, the key and the starfish.




The first Presentose were made in Agnone (which was in the Abruzzo region until 1811) and in Guardiagrele. Subsequently, this particular processing became widespread above all in the Frentana area, Peligna area and in the Aquila area. Currently, beautiful and refined Presentose are made by masters of goldsmith art in Sulmona, Pescocostanzo, Scanno and Guardiagrele."

An example of La Presentosa

We visited another smaller church and ad to shelter there until the bus returned to pick us up to take us back to the station. Unfortunately, the station is under construction so there was not much area to stand in to shelter from the rain which was now coming down very heavily as we awaited the return of the train from Roccaraso. After about 20 minutes, the train arrived and the sodden group of passengers rushed on to take off wet clothes and sit down. It was a shame as Pescoconstanzo is a very beautiful place and we would have liked to see more of it and take more time as well as more photographs. This was difficult in the heavy rain. As many people exclaimed “This is the first of June!!!!” The temperature was quite cold which in combination with the rain did not make for comfort. Nevertheless, it was a great journey and worth every minute. The trip back to Sulmona was uneventful although there was not a lot to see as the windows were steamed up and the rain obscured the hills. Brief stops were made at the stations at which we had stopped on the way up to collect some people who had made tours at Palena to see brown bears which are native to the region.

After disembarking from the train, we drove back to LFMD stopping off at Megalo to pick up some jars of pistachio jam as gifts for people in the USA.

Dinner was, of course, awaiting us and Bruno had a good fire going against the chill. Tired but after a wonderful day, despite the rain which failed to put a damper on things, we retired to bed. Then I found that the European Champions League final was on television between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur so I watched that to the end which resulted in Liverpool winning 2-0. Then to sleep.