WEEKEND IN ABRUZZO: A PHOTO WALK THROUGH A LESSER-KNOWN ITALY

Abruzzo doesn't show up on most people's Italy shortlist, and that's exactly why I went. No Tuscan hills, no Amalfi crowds. Just the Apennines, a scattering of stone villages, and a national park that takes up nearly a third of the region. I'd planned this as a weekend to visit some friends, but it turned into something closer to a walk through three completely different versions of Abruzzo. A fortress abandoned to the wind, a river that disappears underground and comes back and a village the Medici once used to pay for their wool.

Rocca Calascio

One thing I learned about Rocca Calascio is that it shouldn't still be standing. The fortress was raised as a watchtower in the 10th century, expanded into a proper stronghold by the 13th, and sits at 1,460 meters. It’s the highest fort in the entire Apennine range. It was built purely for defense, never as anyone's home.

An earthquake in 1703 did what centuries of sieges never managed, and the fortress was left to crumble. It sat abandoned for most of the 20th century until restoration work in the 1980s brought it back. The hike up was pretty steep and the weather was cold, but the moody sunset at golden hour made for incredible light across the hills in the distance.

Lago di Sinizzo & Grotte di Stiffe

Lago di Sinizzo is a small glacial lake, still and green, that you could easily drive past without a second look. It's the kind of place that photographs better than it sounds on paper. No monument, no history plaque, just water that's almost unnervingly clear ringed by beech forest. Even though it wasn’t warm enough to swim, my friends and I enjoyed a picnic by the water and walking around the lake was peaceful.

A short drive away, the Grotte di Stiffe do the opposite. They ask you to go underground to understand them. These caves are what's called a resurgence — a point where an underground river re-emerges into daylight after flowing invisibly through the mountain. There's a real stream running through the entire visit, carving waterfalls and pools as it goes, which is part of why the caves have only been open to the public since 1991. They're still actively forming. The route is guided, takes about an hour, and moves through named chambers. Including the Hall of Silence, where the water briefly runs quiet before the sound builds again toward the main waterfall room.

Santo Stefano di Sessanio

By the time I reached Santo Stefano di Sessanio, I'd stopped being surprised that Abruzzo kept one-upping itself.

The village dates back to at least the 11th century, but it's the Medici stamp that defines it now. Their coat of arms is still set into the old stone gate, a holdover from the Renaissance period when the Florentine family controlled the local wool trade. Santo Stefano produced a black wool called carfagna that the Medici exported across Europe. The old watchtower, rebuilt after the 2009 earthquake destroyed it, still stands over the rooftops as the village's unmistakable silhouette. It was another chilly cloudy afternoon when we wandered through this village, admiring the stone architecture and surrounding views.

What's struck by so many visitors — and by me — is how lived-in it still feels despite being one of Italy's most photographed borghi. Locals still grow the tiny, prized lentils the surrounding highlands are known for. They’re a Slow Food-protected crop that shows up in soup on menus in town. It's not a village frozen for tourists; it's a working mountain community that happens to be extraordinarily beautiful.

Practical notes

• Getting around: All three stops require a car — this is not a train-and-walk region. Rocca Calascio, Santo Stefano and the Stiffe Caves are close enough together to do comfortably in a long weekend.

• What to wear: Sturdy shoes for the climb to Rocca Calascio, and some warm layers even in summer for the caves — the interior sits around 10°C (50°F) year-round.

• Tickets: The Grotte di Stiffe are guided-tour only. Buy tickets at the village office before heading up, not at the cave entrance itself.

• Best light: Late afternoon for Rocca Calascio, when the hills catch gold light and the crowds thin out.

Abruzzo never asked me to choose between history, nature, and food the way the more famous parts of Italy sometimes do — it just handed me all three in a single weekend and let me figure out which photo to take first. If you're looking for the version of Italy that still feels a bit undiscovered, this is it.