You can enjoy all your favourite Italian foods such as fragrant green olive oil, plump juicy tomatoes, pizza, lasagna and rich gelati while you are here, but you'll also find many dishes and foods characteristic of the region. While you are here, why don't you savour some new flavours while you soak up the sun?
Abruzzo is renowned for its hearty, spicy dishes. Some of the most important ingredients are hot red peppers, called diavolini (little devils). So famous is the area for spiciness, that in the rest of Italy any dish made with spicy peppers is called 'all'Abruzzese'.

Markets are overflowing with fresh local produce that seems to have so much more flavour.
Try out some of the local restaurants where you can have a taste of the 'cucina regionale'. There is a list in the Villa's information folder.
Don't be surprised to find 'cinghiale' (wild boar) on the menu, as it is hunted in the area around the Villa!
A pasta dish which is very typical of the region is "maccheroni alla chitarra", which are sheets of egg dough cut using a flat rolling pin on a wooden box with strings (hence the name "guitar"). This is traditionally served with a lamb, tomato and peperoncino sauce, sprinkled with the local Pecorino cheese.
One of the most famous soups of the region is 'virtu', which includes 7 types of dry pulses, 7 types of fresh pulses, 7 types of vegetables, 7 types of meat, 7 shapes of pasta, 7 seasonings, and 7 hours cooking time. On May Day in Teramo vendors sell it in the street.
Crocuses for saffron have been grown in Navelli since the Middle Ages, thus Abruzzo is Italy's principal source of saffron, with the majority of it grown for export.

Dairy products come from cattle fed on mountain pastures rich in aromatic herbs.
Pecorino and caciocavallo are the main cheeses but local favorites include capruzzo from goat's milk and caciotto and scamorza from cows. The small pear-shaped smoked scamorza are particularly more-ish!
You will also find plenty of the more well-known cheeses such as gorgonzola, mascarpone, ricotta and dolcelatte.

Abruzzo is one of Italy's largest producers of wine. (It ranked fifth in the mid 1990s).
The main grape of Abruzzo is the Montepulciano and produces rich, robust and soft red wines, that are gaining international acclaim. These are excellent and are ideal with red meats and aged cheeses.
Trebbiano d'Abruzzo is the most common white wine. It is delicate, fruity and dry.
Cerasuolo is a very pleasant rosé wine which is produced in the area.
Genziana is a liqueur typical of Abruzzo, and is produced with gentian flowers from the mountains.
Centerbe is another popular liqueur. It's name means 'hundred herbs'.