Love the term “slow tourism.” I own ia couple of small shops in a small state and it is cute as a button and know one ones it exists except anyone doing state capitals and national parks. We have zero as in no tourism department in our city government and main attractions are closed on Sunday. Thanks for such interesting article.
Mine are in Dover Delaware—the First State actually. And the coolest thing is I literally stand and work every single day where we officially became the USA when our founding fathers ratified the US constitution in 1787 making Delaware the first state to do so. You would think someone would care as we’re like the Plymouth Rock of Delaware. Caesar Rodney is our equivalent of a Benjamin Franklin or a Paul Revere or something but we didn’t have a good poet either. :-) Caesar Rodney’s house is across The Green which is also part of the National Park System. We are probably the only national park that has no office open on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. Harriett Tubman walked on the street in front of the gallery as it was one of the routes in her Underground Railroad. I love history as I grew up in Virginia on the Delmarva Peninsula. The original Governor of Virginia was De LaWare and that’s why we have our name. In Virginia history was everything from Jamestown, to George, to whatever being home to 8 presidents. We even knew the name of boxwood gardens and every house practically had a name. But Dover? We just tore down a beautiful Victorian mansion named Scull Mansion whose original owner was a real mover and shaker who even established our library to make sure we were going to be more urban. Our hospital, which owned the property, decided a parking lot would be better use of this fabulous property. Hardscaping a 12 acre parcel in the middle of town in the age of climate change? Seriously? This is my city which is adorable and I have lived in for 50 years. It has more authentic charm than Williamsburg. I’m a Luddite but we have @delawareshoppes and @parkegreengalleries where we post info. Most info about our site is where the sign of The Golden Fleece Tavern is. Thanks to Elizabeth Battelle’s unpaid bar bill, they found out the Golden Fleece was where the constitution was ratified when they were doing research for Bicentennial. I focus on our women’s history which is the coolest ever. Look up Annie Jump Cannon. You’ll faint. Anyway, I’m open seven days a week and do what I can as visitors with bucket lists for visiting state capitals and national parks come all the time and we’re often “it” when it comes to what they will discover when visiting here in the cultural tourism arena. We do have a fabulous small museum, the Biggs Museum of American Art, that now stays open on Sunday and we have two or three restaurants that do brunch on Sunday. One of our coolest state museum’s is The Johnson Victrola Museum. Nippers R Us as we have everything from the early recording era. 250,000 Nippers! Can you imagine? And as an added treat—we have Amish 3 miles out of town! There is also a nice flat walking trail that is part of the Capital City Trail that walks follows the St. Jones so tourists could stretch their legs and see some heron, geese, cormorants, or a couple of eagles that like to fish in two small lakes we have.
Many years ago, I did an ancestry DNA test since I was adopted. I'm Italian on my birth father’s side, and the test pinged Abruzzo as a location his family hailed from. Maybe one day we can afford to visit.
Hi! Italian here (from another region) and I totally agree. Abruzzo is beautiful and sadly underrated. Albeit, being out of mass tourism routes probably adds to its charm.
Agreed! Tourism can bring economic and work opportunities to residents, but too much tourism unfortunately tends to suck the soul out of places. I hope that Abruzzo will be able to find a happy medium.
This is fantastic! I love learning more about Abruzzo. We spent a night here in 2019 at Gran Sasso. Stunning! We visited Ortona de Marsi too, and met some long lost relatives despite the language barrier.
My husband’s grandfather Juliano DiCiccio came to America (Brockton, MA) first when he was 16. He traveled back to Italy to see his family and was drafted to the war. It was during this time he fell in love with Virgo Maria Albanese and when the war was over they moved to America together. They had 4 children - Angelina, Lucia, Rita (mom in law) and Valentino. [The Luiso's (dad in law) are from the Bari Region]
We were able to locate some "relatives" with his grandmothers maiden name, Albanese! When we put together the family tree this made sense - Albanese stuck around because his grandmother had brothers, but DiCiccio faded as his grandfather only had sisters. It’s such a small and gorgeous town!
Hi Laura, I’m from San Vito and your article was really nice! I’ve travelled a lot (all europe,cambogia,vietnam,marocco,australia..) but home is always home and you describe really well what our region is!
Authentic, genuine and very welcoming people, a green region surrounded by nature, with mountains behind and beaches in front!
Love the term “slow tourism.” I own ia couple of small shops in a small state and it is cute as a button and know one ones it exists except anyone doing state capitals and national parks. We have zero as in no tourism department in our city government and main attractions are closed on Sunday. Thanks for such interesting article.
In Abruzzo, many attractions are closed on Sundays too. Which state are your shops in?
Mine are in Dover Delaware—the First State actually. And the coolest thing is I literally stand and work every single day where we officially became the USA when our founding fathers ratified the US constitution in 1787 making Delaware the first state to do so. You would think someone would care as we’re like the Plymouth Rock of Delaware. Caesar Rodney is our equivalent of a Benjamin Franklin or a Paul Revere or something but we didn’t have a good poet either. :-) Caesar Rodney’s house is across The Green which is also part of the National Park System. We are probably the only national park that has no office open on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. Harriett Tubman walked on the street in front of the gallery as it was one of the routes in her Underground Railroad. I love history as I grew up in Virginia on the Delmarva Peninsula. The original Governor of Virginia was De LaWare and that’s why we have our name. In Virginia history was everything from Jamestown, to George, to whatever being home to 8 presidents. We even knew the name of boxwood gardens and every house practically had a name. But Dover? We just tore down a beautiful Victorian mansion named Scull Mansion whose original owner was a real mover and shaker who even established our library to make sure we were going to be more urban. Our hospital, which owned the property, decided a parking lot would be better use of this fabulous property. Hardscaping a 12 acre parcel in the middle of town in the age of climate change? Seriously? This is my city which is adorable and I have lived in for 50 years. It has more authentic charm than Williamsburg. I’m a Luddite but we have @delawareshoppes and @parkegreengalleries where we post info. Most info about our site is where the sign of The Golden Fleece Tavern is. Thanks to Elizabeth Battelle’s unpaid bar bill, they found out the Golden Fleece was where the constitution was ratified when they were doing research for Bicentennial. I focus on our women’s history which is the coolest ever. Look up Annie Jump Cannon. You’ll faint. Anyway, I’m open seven days a week and do what I can as visitors with bucket lists for visiting state capitals and national parks come all the time and we’re often “it” when it comes to what they will discover when visiting here in the cultural tourism arena. We do have a fabulous small museum, the Biggs Museum of American Art, that now stays open on Sunday and we have two or three restaurants that do brunch on Sunday. One of our coolest state museum’s is The Johnson Victrola Museum. Nippers R Us as we have everything from the early recording era. 250,000 Nippers! Can you imagine? And as an added treat—we have Amish 3 miles out of town! There is also a nice flat walking trail that is part of the Capital City Trail that walks follows the St. Jones so tourists could stretch their legs and see some heron, geese, cormorants, or a couple of eagles that like to fish in two small lakes we have.
Many years ago, I did an ancestry DNA test since I was adopted. I'm Italian on my birth father’s side, and the test pinged Abruzzo as a location his family hailed from. Maybe one day we can afford to visit.
Been thinking about visiting Italy for so long. The post is giving me major FOMO so I'll definitely try incorporate Abruzzo in the itinerary!
Love this write up thank you Laura. I have been to many other areas of Italy but never really considered Abruzzo - I am now considering it.
That's so great to hear! Abruzzo has a lot to offer, especially for people who like to get off the beaten path and escape the tourist crowds.
Hi! Italian here (from another region) and I totally agree. Abruzzo is beautiful and sadly underrated. Albeit, being out of mass tourism routes probably adds to its charm.
Agreed! Tourism can bring economic and work opportunities to residents, but too much tourism unfortunately tends to suck the soul out of places. I hope that Abruzzo will be able to find a happy medium.
This is fantastic! I love learning more about Abruzzo. We spent a night here in 2019 at Gran Sasso. Stunning! We visited Ortona de Marsi too, and met some long lost relatives despite the language barrier.
Wow, sounds incredible! How did you connect with your long lost relatives?
My husband’s grandfather Juliano DiCiccio came to America (Brockton, MA) first when he was 16. He traveled back to Italy to see his family and was drafted to the war. It was during this time he fell in love with Virgo Maria Albanese and when the war was over they moved to America together. They had 4 children - Angelina, Lucia, Rita (mom in law) and Valentino. [The Luiso's (dad in law) are from the Bari Region]
We were able to locate some "relatives" with his grandmothers maiden name, Albanese! When we put together the family tree this made sense - Albanese stuck around because his grandmother had brothers, but DiCiccio faded as his grandfather only had sisters. It’s such a small and gorgeous town!
What a great story! (And as an aside, I grew up near Brockton.)
oh no way! i love it. Yarmouth for me!
So glad to find more nature recs ❤️ we just got back from Calabria and went paddle boarding and hiking all weekend!
Abruzzo is definitely for nature lovers!
Hi Laura, I’m from San Vito and your article was really nice! I’ve travelled a lot (all europe,cambogia,vietnam,marocco,australia..) but home is always home and you describe really well what our region is!
Authentic, genuine and very welcoming people, a green region surrounded by nature, with mountains behind and beaches in front!
Hope you can enjoying it again!