A recently converted ground-floor stable in a historic 18th-century farmhouse overlooking the sea amid vineyards & olive groves in a rural hamlet now becoming a holiday area because it is near the beach. The apartment has old wooden doors, traditional brick arches & vaulted ceilings, & has been carefully restored in a simple, rustic, open-plan style to respect the original structure of the building. The flat sleeps between 2 & 6 people: a bedroom with two single beds (separated from the living room by screens) & in the living room a sofa-bed & 2 armchair beds. The living room also has a large dining table & seating for 8. There is a big bathroom with washbasin, bath, shower, toilet & bidet; a small kitchen with sink, draining rack, gas hob, cooker hood, microwave oven & fridge-freezer; & a sheltered seating area outside, looking on to the back garden, with a barbecue (shared with the owners when present) & secure parking. We will give you notes on the apartment, the area, local shops & restaurants, some food & drink on arrival (so you don't have to go out shopping straight away) & any help you need. A friend (phone number supplied) will do so for us, if we are not there.

Robert & Monica are both retired. Robert was a Senior Lecturer in Italian Studies at Manchester University & Monica taught English at Withington Girls School. Their apartment is less than 5 minutes from the beach by car, about 45 from the mountains, just 20 from Pescara airport & 2 or 3 hours from those of Rome. It lies between the popular seaside resort of Francavilla (which holds a spectacular firework display over the sea in the summer that you can see from near the house) & the medieval port of Ortona with its Aragonese castle, promenade overlooking the port & cathedral reputed to house the remains of St Thomas the Apostle. There too is the Regional Enoteca, where you can taste & buy a wide range of Abruzzese wines or sit over an aperitif & antipasti before dining at one of the town’s excellent seafood restaurants. There are plenty of local shops (excellent greengrocers, butchers, bakers, confectioners, fishmongers, etc.), & supermarkets, bars, restaurants, banks, post offices, petrol stations, some a short walk away, all in easy reach by car. There is an 18-hole golf course at Miglianico, just 4 miles away, & skiing in the winter at Passo Lanciano, 25 miles from the house.

In addition to the ground-floor flat we also let a converted barn at the bottom of the garden. That too can also be seen on this website. Abruzzo is a region of outstanding natural beauty: sandy beaches, green fields & woods, vineyards, olive groves, steep-sided valleys & towering mountain ranges. It has 3 national parks & one regional park protecting no less than 30% of the region as a whole & is home to falcons, eagles, wolves, bears, wild boar & chamois. In the mountains are rushing torrents, picturesque lakes & caverns filled with stalactites & stalagmites. Abruzzo is also a land of ancient hill-towns, imposing castles, beautiful medieval abbeys and churches, remote mountain hermitages & significant Roman remains. Its people have preserved many colourful traditions & every year each town or village holds its own traditional festival. They have a great tradition of food & wine too, based on simple, natural ingredients. You can eat well & often inexpensively in its many fine & family-run restaurants. So there is something here for everyone & the best thing of all is that most of it is still relatively undiscovered.