Pescocostanzo and their Lace Museum & Pacentro

Today was our last full day in Abruzzo and we began the day with some heavy rain however, by the time we arrived in Pescocostanza, it had stopped and by lunch time the sun returned. We have had 7 full days of sun here in Sulmona so a bit of morning rain isn't something to complain about. And, the afternoon and early evening was again sunny for us so all is well in Abruzzo!

Boarding our but by 9am we headed into the mountains again to visit the village of Pescocostanzo where we met Lucca our local guide. We visited the two churches which had quite amazing exquisite inlaid marble and fairly impressive artwork. https://www.italyheritage.com/regions/abruzzo/laquila/pescocostanzo.htm.

After our walking tour of the village, we visited a lace making museum with some spectacular pieces of lace work common to this region. This was quite a remarkable craft that women and young girls still engage in. There was a lace making teacher there for us to watch.

After the lace museum we decided to walk up to a view point above the village which was well worth the climb because we were then gifted with some amazing views of the village and surrounding countryside!

Returning down to the village, we were left to find lunch on our own and several of us checked out Pescocostanza restaurants on Trip Advisor prior to our trip. Unfortunately, most were closed and when we found the only one that was open, it was crowded and no one had been served yet. So, Michael and I left in search of an alternative. Finding no other restaurants open, we happened upon an Alimentari that was open with panini of all sorts for sale. So we each got a panini, some chips, and Peroni beer (all that they had unfortunately!).

Turns out the shop was owned by the daughter of an Abruzzi retired couple who were there and help her out with the shop. They had lived in Canada for several years and the man's English was perfect. We chatted as our panini were being prepared and I tried to pay with my credit card which his wife told me was denied. I paid in euros and we left to walk to the local park for our picnic. Before we got very far, this man comes running after us yelling for us to stop! Apparently, my credit card did go through so I had paid twice for our lunch. He chased us down with a 20 euro bill to return saying, "I'm so glad that I caught you before you got very far. I would have felt terrible if we had charged you double!" Small example of meeting really good people anywhere you travel which gives us hope for the world!

Around 2pm, the group regathered and we headed on to Pacentro, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacentro. Our first stop was a visit with a woman who owns a traditional terra cotta creche figurine workshop where she demonstrated her art.

After that we walked through the village and up to their castle that had some spectacular views!

We then walked down again into the piazza where we went into their church that had remarkable ceiling carvings.

And a few other shots from the piazza including a Noni who gave directions to the public bathroom.

By this time, the sun was shining brightly again and we headed back to Sulmona for our last dinner together before heading back to Rome in the morning! Before leaving for dinner, Michael and I met up with an Italian couple who were also staying at the hotel. They had lived in Canada for several years and their English was again, excellent. They wanted to share a toast of an Abruzzi liquor called Ratafia wishing us continued successful travels.

Tomorrow we pack and head back to Rome! Arrivederci Abruzzo!