A unique panorama of cliffs, sea and trabucchi

The rocky coast of southern Abruzzo captivates with its beautiful views and unspoilt nature. It is the Costa dei Trabocchi (Trabocchi Coast), named after the characteristic fishing constructions that line the southern part of the region.

The Adriatic immediately conjures up the image of sandy beaches, but in reality there are stretches of coastline along the peninsula with completely different, distinctive and beautiful characteristics. Abruzzo is one of those regions that can boast both a sandy coastline and areas where cliffs, coves, and pebbly or sandy shores with splendid landscapes follow one another.

It is as we descend southwards that the Abruzzo landscape changes and from the sandy beaches we move on to the characteristic Chietino coastline; here the rocks take over and the coastline takes on a rugged and fascinating flavour. Until arriving just before the border with Molise where there is the Punta d'Erce cliff, so steep and wild that it is known as 'little Normandy'. The environment, untouched and pristine, is a Maritime Nature Reserve.

This entire stretch of coastline is known as the Costa dei Trabocchi and takes its name from the characteristic constructions used for fishing, the 'trabocchi'. They are pile dwellings that rise above the sea and are connected to the mainland by long wooden walkways and run from Francavilla to San Salvo.
The long sequence of these very particular constructions connotes the landscape in an absolutely original way precisely because of their appearance, which D'Annunzio defined as 'the great fishing machine, similar to the colossal skeleton of an antediluvian amphibian', words that the Abruzzese author used to describe the Turchino trabocco, mentioned in the Triumph of Death.