The Villa stands in 7 acres of beautiful, rural Italian farmland with many types of young trees: cherry, olive, plum, peach, walnut, almond and weeping willow with a 9 hole golf course which surrounds the villa. Once you navigate the half kilometre driveway from the single track road to the driveway, you will see the cherry trees on your left. As you approach the villa the pool and patio are to the left with a beautiful view to the right which over looks the valley and the river. Past the villa to the left is the garage/storeroom behind which is the carpark, and to the right is the barn and old chicken coup. The pool is 8x4 meters, surrounded by a large patio area and lounging beside is thoroughly recommended with a cold Peroni beer or glass of local Montepulciano wine. This patio area really comes into it's own during the hot summer months. A patio pump house houses loungers and pool toys and adjacent is a solar pool shower. A large gazebo gives shade for those who want to cool off. The garage/storeroom is primarily for garden tools but also contains a washing machine, a table football and a selection of ball games. There's also a working pizza oven and outside wash basin.
A private 9 hole golf course which surrounds the villa is available to guests. Due to the climatic conditions the greens cannot be maintained therefore we would recommend playing to winter rules. With drives upto 150 metres.and rough terrain, this will certainly test your abilities but will create much fun. A half set of clubs and balls are available.
Villa Degna is also a great location for spring or winter breaks. The magnificent scenery of the snow capped Appenini Mountains and the cosy log burning fire make it ideal for a short break during the spring/winter months. For those who are keen skiers, there is an abundance of high quality ski resorts all within an hours drive of Villa Degna. This is one of Abruzzo's best kept secrets! Passo Lanciano, Roccaraso and Campo Imperatore to name but a few of the resorts enjoyed by many Italians. If skiing is not for you then walking/rambling is just as much fun.You can reach the Gran Sasso & Maiella National Parks in just 40 minutes. The National Parks cover one-third of the territory of Abruzzo, so there is an abundance of walks and trails of various lengths and levels of difficulty. You can enjoy majestic mountain scenery with a wide variety of flora and fauna, and, if you are lucky, you may spot a wild bear, wolf or chamois.
Possible walks and visits:
- Atri and the Calachi reserve;
- tour of Loreto Aprutino and Penne;
- Castelli and its surroundings - pottery and high mountains;
- Calderone glacier (the southernmost glacier in Europe);
- Along the sheep-track;
- Monastries and Hermitages;
- the capital of the region: L'Aquila;
- Scanno
- Teramo.
How to get here: The nearest airport is Pescara (40km, which is a 40 min drive to Villa Degna).
The villa can also be reached from Rome (nearly 200km) or Ancona (nearly 150km).
Flights from the UK -
To Pescara: from Stansted, via Ryanair.
To Ancona: from Stansted and Liverpool, via Ryanair.
To Rome: from Dublin, East Midlands, Glasgow, Liverpool, Luton, Stansted and Shannon, via Ryanair.
from Belfast, Bristol, Gatwick and Newcastle, via Easyjet.
Flights from the rest of Europe -
To Pescara: from Barcelona and Frankfurt, via Ryanair.
To Rome: many flights
Flights from the USA -
To Pescara: from New York (May – Nov’09), via Eurofly.
To Rome: many flights
Car hire is available from Hertz.com., Avis, Europcar, Maggiore, Sixt and Auto Europa at Pescara, Ancona and Rome airports.
Abruzzo Region: Abruzzo, set between the Appenine mountains and the Adriatic sea, is known as the 'green region of Europe', with over a third of it's surface protected.
4 National Parks, high picks for trekking (Gran Sasso), skiing resorts (Maiella mountain and Campo Imperatore), sandy and stone beaches (Pineto, Torre di Cerrano and S.Vito Chietino), lots of medieval towns on top of hills, handicrafts, museums and a lot more. There are some local products such as 'arrosticini' (skewered barbecued mutton), truffles, cheese (pecorino), hand-made pasta, liquors (ratafia, genziana, centerba), saffron and of course the Montepulciano D'Abruzzo and the Trebbiano white wine make it special from the 'food and wine'.
In addition to all this, its central position makes it easy to reach Rome (about 2 1/2 hours by car) and you could extend your holiday to Croatia taking the ferry from Pescara!