Sulmona is located
160 km/100 miles east of Rome and just 74km/46 miles west of Pescara (on the east coast) high up in the Apennine mountains in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Various no-frills airlines fly to both these cities which are linked by motorway and a railway line, both serving Sulmona.
The town dates back to Roman times and is famous as the birthplace of the Roman love poet, Ovid. Its other claim to fame is the manufacture of "confetti": not the paper thrown at weddings but sugared almonds, often fashioned into flowers and other decorative shapes.
The town has half a dozen hotels – all of 3-stars category or lower. All are pretty small with some on the main road well out of town.
So this is something to bear in mind if you don't have a car there.
Hotel Italia
Sta Chiara church... and
convent
SS Annunziata church
Piazza Plebicito
Sta Maria della Tomba Corso Ovidio
Typical
house
Piazza Garibaldi
Piazza XX Settembre Municipal
museum Medieval aqueduct
From the airport to Rome city centre and on to Sulmona
My Ryanair flight went into the military airport at Ciampino south of Rome rather than the "normal" one at Fiumicino to the west of the city. Yet Ciampino is actually closer to the
centre. You can catch a bus to the end of the Rome underground "Line A" at Anagnina (€1
purchased from behind the bar in the airport), or a different bus to Ciampino train station. Both Metro and train will get you to Termini, the main
railway station in Rome. The train cost me €2 and took about 30 minutes; the Metro only cost 77 cents
– the standard fare for any Metro journey at the time. There is also a dedicated bus service
– meeting all Ryanair flights – direct to the centre of Rome (€12 at the time). I don't know if this applies to EasyJet flights but I would guess so.
The Trenitalia website – http://trenitalia.com/en/index.html
– gives times of trains to Sulmona – about 4 trains a day (to Pescara on the Adriatic coast) stopping at Sulmona. The journey is about 2 hours 45 minutes and was a bargain at €9 single. NB this service leaves from Tiburtina station, four stops northeast from Termini central station on the "Line B" Metro.
Alternatively Autolinee Schiappa run a fast bus service (six per day on weekdays) also from Tiburtina (right outside the train station) to
Scanno, stopping at Sulmona. This only takes 2 hours but I am not sure of the price. The timetable (but not fares!) are available at their website
– http://www.autolineeschiappa.it
–. NB some services are shared with and operated by another bus company called
ARPA. Also NB only one service on a Sunday at about 9pm.
I stayed at the 18-room Armando's. A single room without air-conditioning (not necessary in June in the mountains) was €37 per night with breakfast. For me it turned out to be the right choice. Clean, friendly, helpful, excellent continental breakfast, quiet location and only about 600
metres/660 yards easy walk to/from the town
centre.
Address: Via Montenero, 15.
Tel: (international) +39 0864.210783
Fax +39 0864.210787
Website: www.hotelarmandos.it
E-mail
infoarmandos@libero.it
Hotel Armando's
Unless you have a car there, the only other hotel which makes sense for this trip is the Italia (1-star according to the web but the hotel claims 2-star) in the very centre of town in a characterful historic building. It has better, modern bathrooms than Armando's but the staff did not speak English, they had no email and did not offer breakfast. €32 single, €52 double, on room-only basis.
Hotel Italia
Naturally, if you rent a car you can take your choice of the bigger out-of-town hotels. A good source of general information on the town with a full list of hotels (with email addresses) and restaurants is the local council's own site:
http://www.comune.sulmona.aq.it/web/index.html
You can find a little more information about the camp including some photographs if you ask at the library. This is situated in
Lgo Tommasini, just off the main central square, Piazza XX Settembre (the one with the statue of Ovid).
The library is in the
street overlooked by the tower
When I visited, one of the library staff called in a friend who turned out to be a remarkable young man. Stefano Camilli is an expert on WWII, speaks excellent English and once arranged a visit inside the camp for a group of former
PoW who arrived totally unannounced! I won't publish his contact details here but it may be worth asking at the library if he is still around and able to give further assistance.
Another person in the town who is passionate about its WWII history is the local barber whose shop is in the main street, Corso
Ovidio, near the central squares. He will proudly show you his little collection of wartime memorabilia. He has a professor friend who is also very interested in the subject but who was unfortunately not available during my visit.
The barber's shop
in the main street
So speak to the people. They are proud of their partisan past and the assistance they provided to many Allied escapees. They will welcome you and make your visit all the more worthwhile and memorable.
