Rome to Abruzzo
 

Will be driving from Rome to Pratola-Peligna and would like to make a stop or two along the way -- for lunch, a scenic view, an interesting town, etc. Any suggestions? Thank you!

There are many gems in Abruzzo. The town of Sulmona (very close to Pratola-Peligna) has a great Wednesday market, and it's fun to explore even without the market. Rocca Calascio is an amazing castle ruin (and there are many others in Abruzzo). Pietracamela is a neat little town in the shadow of the Gran Sasso and just a short drive from the Prato di Tivo ski resort, quite pleasant year round. Those are just a few, but if you only have a day, they would be more than enough. The whole area is very scenic.

Thank you, Midnightsun! This is really helpful.

If you take the autostrada from Rome, you'll pass through a very sparsely populated region, passing through very few towns. The route is quite scenic, but you can't pull over very often. The hill town of Carsoli is worth a visit; it was an ancient Roman colony, then a medieval fortified town. It has some medieval remains, including part of the medieval castle. There are also some Roman ruins.

If you want to take a longer route, on the SS4, you'll pass through the town of Rieti, which is larger than Carsoli, and worth visiting. It's a favorite summer getaway for Romans. It's on an ancient lakebed, which was very marshy in Roman times. The Romans drained it by diverting a river, cutting through the rocks at Marmore, and creating the Falls of Marmore (in Terni) which are also worth seeing, but probably too much of a detour. Rieti is surrounded by mountains and there is a ski resort on one of them. (Mussolini used to ski there.) There is a well-preserved medieval wall there.

Thanks, bvlenci. This is exactly the sort of information I was hoping for!