Atri, Abruzzo

Atri

Atri is a charming hill town in Abruzzo, positioned a little northwest of Pescara. It is a pleasant town with a compact centro storico that is easily walked. From the edges of town you can take in panoramic views of the Adriatic to the east, while to the west loom the towering peaks of the Gran Sasso.

The streets are clean and well maintained and are easy to wander, offering interesting doors and alleys. It is worth a visit to the Chiesa di San Nicola with its wood ceiling. Beautiful stain glass windows are found in the Chiesa di San Francesco, as well as the Chiesa di San Liberatore with a blazing scene of the crucifixion glowing in full sunlight. The Basilica is closed for renovations, but you can garner a quick peak into the town’s stately teatro on Piazza Duomo, with an elegant coffee bar in the foyer. There are plenty of shops, cafes and alimentari in the centro to fulfill most of your daily needs.

When you leave Atri be sure to drive through some of the calanchi, or eroded hills, to the west and into the Fiume Vomano valley. There is easy access to the A14 along the coast and the airport at Pescara is less than thirty minutes away by car.

A little Italian to help search on the internet

When searching the internet for properties in Marche and Abruzzo, you may be tempted to limit yourself to searching real estate sites that employ the English language. Although there are many good English-only property agency sites available, there is also a vast array of real estate sites for this area that are available only in Italian, and many at prices that will reward the linguistic adventurer.

These sites can be found just as easily as English-only sites when using the usual search engines but some will typically have endings with “.it” instead of the common “.com”. Be daring and venture into a new range of possibilities and here is some vocabulary to help you along the way:

• Vendesi: For sale, you may see variations of this word used.
• Immobiliare: Realtor or real estate agency.
• Regione: The Italian region, such as Marche or Abruzzo.
• Provincia: A bureaucratic area within a region such as Macerata or Chieti.
• Comune: City or town name.
• Tipologia: Type, will be seen used with various topics but often refers to type of housing structure
• Prezzo: The price.
• Apri: Click here to open the page.
• Cerca: Do the search.
• Chuidi: Close the page.
• Mq: This is square meters, multiply by 10 to get a rough square footage.
• Bagni: Number of bathrooms.
• Piano: Floor number, terra is ground floor, primo is first floor (American second floor), secondo is second (American third), and so on.
• Locali: The number of rooms such as monolocale (one room studio), bilocale and trilocale.
• Camera: A room, usually refers to bedrooms.
• Camera matrimoniale: This is a master bedroom, and usually just means large enough for a double bed. Do not expect a master suite.
• Riscaldamento autonomo: Separate heating system, important with apartments so you do not share the cost to heat other apartments.
• Ascensore: Elevator, may be important for a third floor apartment.
• Parcheggio: Parking availability. If it is not listed it may not be available, especially in a centro storico location.
• Ristrutturato: This is a property that has recently been renovated.
  
• Da Ristrutturare: Denotes a property that is in need of renovations.
• Rustico: A property often needing renovations, may be no more than some stone walls. A rustico was normally used as rural farming building.

Expand your linguistic horizons and you may be rewarded with a wide variety of properties to choose from. Italy Property Preview is ready to help you narrow down your location choices by offering detailed inspections of a particular property and associated amenities.

Lanciano

‘Citta del Miracolo’

A bustling hilltop town located in Abruzzo, Lanciano retains its small-town flavor while offering a lot of activity and sights. Easily accessible it is south of Pescara and Chieti just a short distance from the Adriatic Sea, not far from the A14 autostrada, and with train service along the coast is available as well. The centro storico is separated into three parts- Lancianovecchia, La Sacca and Il Borgo, which radiate from the centrally-located Piazza Plebiscito. Each of these areas is their own, distinct little neighborhood and each has some shops and eateries, while the main shopping area is in the newer section along Corso Trento e Trieste.

The Santuario San Francesco just off the Piazza Plebiscito is a major pilgrim destination as it holds what is reputed to be the first Il Miracolo Eucaristico in Italy, a communion wafer and wine that reportedly turned to flesh and blood. The church is built over several earlier structures and you can go down into the ancient levels where you make your way through a maze of tunnels and chambers, eventually exiting out several meters away from the church.

There are several interesting churches and Chiesa Santa Maria Maggiore has some beautiful architectural features with its carved portals and rose windows. Walking through the narrow streets you come upon other churches without any notice; be sure to check if the doors are open.

There are remnants of the city fortifications, with portions of the defensive walls and towers still visible in several areas of town. You can also see some examples of typical and charming medieval structures in each quarter including an example of a former and characteristic store-front in Piazza dei Frentani.

The newer city encroaches on the centro storico but the nearby countryside opens to wide vistas of rolling hills with the Adriatic Sea in the background and mountain ranges with snow covered peaks to the west.