Pretoro

Member of I Borghi più belli d'Italia

ZitumassinVeduta di Pretoro 7 CC BY 3.0
Raboe001 (Wikimedia Commons user)Blockhaus Parco nazionale della Majella 2010-by-RaBoe-28 CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Fernando BlasioliPretoro - Grotta dell'eremita 01 CC BY-SA 4.0
PietroPretoro-ChiesaDellaMadonnaDellaMazza CC BY-SA 3.0
ZitumassinSant'Andrea Pretoro CC BY-SA 3.0
ZitumassinVeduta di Pretoro 8 CC BY 3.0
Eduard Freiherr von Handel-MazzettiEduard von Handel-Mazzetti Pretoro in den AbruzzenPublic domain
maury3001Foresta autunnale della Maiella - panoramio CC BY 3.0
maury3001Chalet sulla Maiella tra il bosco - panoramio CC BY 3.0
maury3001Case tipiche di Pretoro - panoramio CC BY 3.0
maury3001Foresta della Maiella - panoramio CC BY 3.0
maury3001I pini della maiella - panoramio CC BY 3.0

On a steep scarp of the Maiella's eastern flank, Pretoro's stone houses climb in a narrowing triangle towards the spot where its castle once stood. Ringed by beech woods, the village has long specialised in woodcarving, and in winter the snow often stops right at the houses while the Passo Lanciano ski slopes wait higher up.

Highlights

The Madonna della Mazza, a 13th-century hermitage visited on the first Sunday of July
Lu Lope and the serpari, rites held in honour of San Domenico
The polychrome terracotta Pietà in the church of San Nicola
The Grotta dell'Eremita, a hermit's cave with Bronze Age finds
The Valle del Foro nature reserve within the municipality

Text adapted from Wikipedia (Pretoro (IT), Pretoro (EN)), Wikivoyage (Pretoro). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Population: 856

Things to see

Events through the year

Festa di Sant'Antonio (Le Farchie) Religious · JanuaryBurning farchie recall the saint driving off French troops
Feast of Saint Dominic and the serpari Religious · First Sunday of MayPrizes for the biggest snakes, then the play of Saint Dominic and the wolf
Notti di San Lorenzo Fairs and markets · 9–11 AugustAntiques, crafts and food market, costume events and shooting-star watching

Dates follow the traditional patterns in our sources: check locally before you travel.

Adapted from Wikivoyage (Pretoro). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Local food & wine

Popo le ChienSpaghetti chitarra CC0
Pasta alla chitarraBread and pastaAbruzzo pasta cut on a wire-strung tool called a chitarra
P'ttlolozz'Bread and pastaDiamond-shaped flour and water pasta cooked in sauce
Lamb grilled over mixed woodDishCooked over fir, beech, hornbeam and juniper wood
TurcinelliDishPork intestines stuffed with sweetbreads and chilli
CiabbottaDishMixed vegetables served on slices of country bread
Pizz' e foijDishVegetable stew with smoked sardine and crumbled cornmeal focaccia

Adapted from Wikipedia (Pretoro). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where to sleep

3 places to stay within 3 km

Hotels 1
B&Bs and guest houses 1
Campsites 1

Nearby member villages

Guardiagrele · 7.1 km
Abbateggio · 11 km
Caramanico Terme · 13 km
Casoli · 17 km
Crecchio · 18 km