Bominaco: Two Churches and a Castle on the Hill

The next day of our off-season travel in Abruzzo, we started by visiting two churches and the castle in Bominaco. Driving there, I was looking at the mountains and thinking that Abruzzo in winter would be better with more snow, but on the other hand, many roads would be closed. And we saw it later on.

The Oratory of Saint Pellegrino

Oratory of Saint Pellegrino and, standing several meters up, the Church of Saint Mary of the Assumption can be seen with a guide-volunteer at specific hours. Bad luck – the guides speak Italian only, at least what one of them told us. The other option, as we were informed in the bar, is phoning the oratory key-holder, who will let you in. In this case, you should be nice and give a small gratuity. I don’t know how and whether it works, but that’s what we learnt.

The Oratory is a small building decorated with frescoes depicting episodes from the Old and New Testaments, religious figures, and so on, as typically frescoes do. I liked the astrological calendar with the phases of the moon and images of people, but even more – the picture of St. Onuphrius, a man who had lost his clothes.

I’m guessing in the Middle Ages new clothes could be hard to come by, or perhaps he couldn’t afford it, so his only option was to go naked. Because he was deeply religious, a miracle occurred, and long hair sprouted on his body, and maybe because of this he was hailed as a “saint.” I liked the way his eyes looked from the fresco; they looked as if they were saying, “I need hair on my feet too.”

I love medieval churches and I enjoy frescoes, but in my opinion the tour was a bit too long and detailed. But if you’re interested in complete descriptions of art, you might enjoy it.

Santa Maria Assunta – White, Bare and Not My Taste

The Church of Santa Maria Assunta, which is next door, was built between the 11th and 12th centuries, and it looks a bit unreal – it’s very whitish inside. I actually thought that the renovation works had gone too far and stone columns were painted in white, but surprisingly the church is exactly as when it was built.

It has the oldest stone candle holder in Italy, nice soft lighting, and used to have two stone lion figurines, but they have been stolen. Inside the church is very simple and I don’t know… elegant. Nah, bleached is a better word. Anyway, the church is considered a very romantic and popular place to get married. Obviously, the general opinion is different than mine – I didn’t like it at all.

Up to the Castle Ruins

Hoping for an amazing view, we climbed the stairs to the castle ruins, which are just a few hundred meters further up. And the panorama did not disappoint us.

San Domenico Lake – When Blue Stops the Car

After that, we decided to see some blue – San Domenico Lake. I went there a few years ago and really wanted to see it again.

The Road Through the Mountains

The feast for the eyes begins quite a ways before you arrive. A winding road, with crags on one side and rocky walls on the other, leads through the beautiful Abruzzo mountains to the lake.
From time to time, an eagle or a falcon flies overhead – I always spot them, as I’m usually the passenger. Sometimes these beautiful birds fly right in front of the car’s front window, and that’s when you have to brake. Crazy animals. It’s also very quiet; for a good while, we were the only ones on the road – Abruzzo mountains in winter look like that.

I always feel a certain excitement and awe mixed with respect when looking at the mountains. And the signs here and there warning of falling rocks make the feeling even stronger, giving you an extra adrenaline rush.

First View of the Lake

As you’re driving, at one point, you see incredibly blue water off to the side – Lake San Domenico says “hello.” You have to stop the car. Not because it’s obligatory, but because the colour of the water will stop you anyway.

The lake is beautiful, surrounded by mountains, and when the sun is shining, it reflects the sun’s rays, making the water even bluer. But that’s just the beginning; the lake’s true beauty can be seen upon reaching the Roman bridge and Eremo San Domenico.

You might be surprised –the reservoir is artificial. It doesn’t look so, but it was created for a hydroelectric power plant. This small detail never diminished my admiration for the stunning natural landscape of the Gole del Sagittario Gorge.

Above the Lake

If you walk along the lake to the viewpoint, you will have the hermitage and the bridge in front of you. If you keep walking up, the path will lead you to the belvedere at the top of the mountain. The view from there is absolutely worth this short climb, even if you don’t like it. Actually, it would be OK to walk up much longer to see it. I know that the top of the top of the lakes in Italy is Garda, but I absolutely stand with the lakes in Abruzzo. And Abruzzo itself, of course.

The lake is fantastic when there are no people, and it happens during lunchtime. Otherwise, to enjoy it, try not to pay attention to people running here and there taking selfies or flying drones. Take some time observing crazy ducks, whose white colour contrasts nicely with blue water, or coots – birds that “run” on the water in a funny way and dive from time to time, showing their rump.

When Winter Closes the Road

Later on, we wanted to go to Campo Imperatore, another beautiful part of Abruzzo, which I like very, very much.
Winter in the Abruzzo mountains might be tricky – even if we thought we didn’t see snow, the road to Campo was closed because of it.

So we decided to do Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Caramanico Terme, and something that we didn’t want to visit, but the GPS wanted.

Santo Stefano di Sessanio – A Beautiful Borgo in Abruzzo

San Stefano is a boutique medieval borgo in Abruzzo. Without doubt, a very lovely place, but…
I went to Santo Stefano a few years ago and remember it was full of scaffolding, and actually it’s still the same. Santo Stefano was once a private borgo of one Swede, who in the 70s started restoration projects on the village. And then he sold it. But because the town also suffered an earthquake, restorations will take some time yet and scaffolding will stay there for longer.

Charming Corners and Narrow Passages

Even though, some of the corners of the village are charming – especially one: a wall with a low, tiny window decorated with a white handmade curtain and a cute owl, and a very narrow passage between the walls. I had to take off my backpack to squeeze through. If you have a belly – well, you’ll have to suck it in.
Santo Stefano is full of B&Bs, cafes, restaurants, and shops with locally produced honey and jam or salamis. We had a plate of cheese, cold cuts, and wine in one of the shops hidden under the dark passage.
The village is atmospheric, pleasing, pretty, etc., but something’s missing there. I don’t know – it gives me an impression of somehow an artificial place. Yes, it’s a medieval boutique for tourists.

When I went there for the first time, we had dinner in a restaurant which is just in the parking lot at the entrance to the borgo. It was one of the worst restaurant experiences in Italy I’ve ever had, but not because of the food. I hope the owner has changed and maybe now it’s better, but I wouldn’t eat there. There are plenty of better eateries in Abruzzo.

Following the GPS Into the Mountains

It was a gloomy afternoon, so it was time for a Christmas Market. We wrote in the GPS “Ceramanico Terme,” as there was one of them. I’ve been to Caramanico Terme and more or less remember the way, which is pretty good. But the GPS apparently didn’t know that I know and decided that our dream was to wander around, preferably through the mountain peaks.

And we were driving through the mountains; it was getting darker and darker, colder and colder… I started getting a bit nervous – my imagination always works heavily in such circumstances, but there was no way to get back, so we kept going.

Then, in the darkness, I saw a light – civilisation! GPS directed us to some side road – hmm, I don’t remember the road to Caramanico being so narrow and bumpy, but apparently Google Maps knows what it is doing, so okay.

Not really, as it led us to a tiny place with a very similar name. We stopped the only local, asking where the Christmas Market was. He looked at us weirdly and said, “In Caramanico Terme. But if you got here, walk around and see our cute place.” So we did it. Walking from the parking to the end of the village and back took us maybe 5 minutes. So much, because we were walking slowly. It was dark, so I believe what he said – the village is cute.

Caramanico Terme in Winter

Unbelievable, but we finally got to Caramanico Terme. From the tiny place whose name I cannot remember, it was just 10 km. Caramanico Terme, as the name suggests, is a place with hot springs. There are also some historical places in the town to see, but so far I haven’t bothered myself with them; maybe next time. The town is in the heart of Majella Park, so there are many paths for hikers, and I’ve done a few of them, but it was the first time I visited Caramanico in the winter.

A Very Small Christmas Market

I was hoping that the Christmas Market would be nice. And it was OK. I wouldn’t actually call it a Christmas Market – there were just a few stalls, mostly selling food, set up along the main promenade. At the end of it, there was a very small skating rink, and a little lower down the main street stood a carousel with flashing lights. There were, of course, Christmas decorations and some Nativity sets.

Caramanico is very small, so the market was tiny too, but actually good enough to enjoy the whole crazy drive through the peaks of the mountains and visiting a place that the GPS had chosen for us. We had a walk around, coffee and cheesecake, and it made us feel a bit more Christmassy.

Back to Popoli

Then we went back to Popoli also to see it – it was empty, and everything was closed, even though it was not so late. But that’s life in the mountains – going to sleep early, waking up even earlier, and not going out when it’s dark and cold. Walking in cold weather is certainly very attractive to people living in warm countries, but not necessarily to locals.

Besides that, winter is actually about wrapping yourself in a blanket and sitting with a cup of tea and a book. I know it very well; I am from a country with four seasons, and it’s something that I really miss living in the south of Italy.

Anyway, going back to Popoli, the town is pleasant. Nothing really fantastic, just a town. Our attention was drawn to a cafe in the main square; it was producing a cacophony of music. I still cannot guess why there were no customers at all there. And we saw a man trying to sell grilled chestnuts, so we bought a portion and went back to the apartment. And we were still hearing the music.

For the next day, we were planning to climb the castle visible from the balcony, revisit Scanno with its absurd number of stairs, and the lake. Hmm, sometimes you can plan whatever you want, but not everything is under your control. And my knee decided that it didn’t like stairs. I woke up in the morning with my knee on strike, so we had to adjust our plans. You’ll read about it in the next post.