Santo Stefano di Sessanio - A Veritable Feast

The poster I saw of "Degusta e Artigianato Artistico" in Santo Stefano di Sessanio appealed to me immediately. I knew I had to go there. The village was hosting a veritable gastronomic delight for foodies over 3 days. Below is a photo showing some of the 70 stands offering delicious samples of local produce.

This was the perfect opportunity to go back to one of my favourite places in the whole of Abruzzo and spend a relaxing time there with K and 2 friends, Sue and Adrian.

The name of Santo Stefano di Sessanio comes from the Latin word "Sextantia" meaning that the village was 6 miles away from a strategic crossroads en route to Rome.

Image above of sunset in Santo Stefano courtesy of KRB

Revisiting Little Tibet
Santo Stefano di Sessanio is located high up in the mountains, set in the spectacular, unforgettable scenery of Campo Imperatore.
We passed through Little Tibet on the way. You might like to read a blog post I wrote last year called "In Little Tibet".

Photo below of me enjoying the views reproduced with kind permission by Sue Laing.

The views are absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. Talented photographer and dedicated motorcyclist Karl Bianchini took the photo below, which has recently been published in the Abruzzo Weekly magazine.

Below is one of my favourite photos, I took from high up in the village centre.

Another view below. Thank you K xx


Sextantio, Albergo Diffuso
I once had the pleasure of staying a few nights at the Sextantio, Albergo Diffuso. Each time I go back, I have to look at where we stayed. You can read more about "Sextantio -unique world class hotel" from Inside Abruzzo blog.

A lovely blog post from Life in Abruzzo highlighting a romantic trip to this fabulous village is called "Reliving Romance 100 Years Later in Santo Stefano di Sessanio".

A Special Risotto with Pecorino Wine
My friends and I also sampled the delicious local Pecorino wine. There is a review of it from Life in Abruzzo blog. This Pecorino wine went down very well with the fabulous Risotto that was cooked right in front of us and filmed by Italian TV. It was worth all the wait, and the portion dished out was very generous indeed. It was fantastic to see this dish created in front of a crowd of enthusiastic onlookers. I managed to get to the front and got a great view of the demonstration!! If you would like to cook a special dish such as this one, Maria Liberati has a fab recipe for risotto.

Medieval Delights
We visited the array of lovely, unique shops scattered throughout the medieval lanes in the centre of the village. These delightful shops sell local produce such as handcarved wooden items, and handmade linen, fit for a signorina's bottom drawer!

Above is a photo taken by Sue of one of the delightful and quirky signs outside a shop, and below a tranquil corner, also shot by Sue. Many thanks for allowing me to show them here :-)

Below you can see me in the amazing interior of a "Tisanerie", where we stopped for a refreshing cuppa!!


The Medici Tower

Viewing the once beautiful medieval Medici Tower surrounded by steel scaffolding as seen above and below, invoked feelings of sadness and nostalgia, but at the same time, a feeling of hope for the future.

Below you can see an image of the Medici Tower before the devastating L'Aquila earthquake in April 2009.

Image source here.

Noel from About Abruzzo blog has recently written a great post about Santo Stefano called "Medici Memories in Abruzzo". Definitely well worth reading and viewing the fab photos.

Quiet Reflection
This lovely corner of the village for quiet reflection is only one of the numerous places, which are picture perfect.

The image would be suitable to exploit in the same way as Chiew Pang has described in his excellent A Clil To Climb blog post Photos + Mind Map = Ideas on a Silver Platter

Below another view of the village.

I do hope this blog post on Santo Stefano di Sessanio has inspired you to visit Abruzzo one day so that you can view the absolutely stunnning scenery for yourself :-)