The Trabocchi Trail on foot: from the holm-oak wood to the sea

There is a slow way to experience the Costa dei Trabocchi: on foot, pack on your back, along the Via Verde and the beach paths. This «sea-trekking» stage — about a day’s walk — links the Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere to the marina of Casalbordino, crossing the wildest stretch of the Torino di Sangro coast.

You begin high up, at the Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere near Fossacesia, a Benedictine monastery looking out over the Adriatic, and descend towards the sea. Past the mouth of the Sangro you enter the Lecceta di Torino di Sangro Regional Nature Reserve: hectares of coastal holm oak, the only place in Abruzzo where the land tortoise lives and breeds in the wild. Seven trails weave beneath the canopy; the observation hide offers silence and sightings.

Out of the wood you step onto the pebbles of Costa Verde and walk the shoreline to Le Morge — the suspended trabocco, the Blue Flag sand — before heading on to Casalbordino Lido. It’s a walk that speaks of nature and spirituality together: these lands lie close to the Way of St Thomas, the pilgrimage that leads from Rome to the apostle’s relics in Ortona Cathedral.

An easy, flat surface on the Via Verde, with some tougher stretches of sand and pebbles. Light trekking shoes, a hat and water: inside the reserve there are few places to refill.

Good to know

• Light trekking shoes: you alternate the asphalt of the Via Verde, woodland trails and stretches of beach
• Carry water inside the Lecceta reserve: refill points are few and it gets hot in summer
• Spring and autumn are the best seasons for walking and for birdwatching at the mouth of the Sangro
• For the Way of St Thomas (Rome → Ortona) you need the pilgrim’s credential, requested from the official association
• Optional devotional detour: the Sanctuary of the Madonna dei Miracoli at Casalbordino, inland

Best time: Spring (April–June) and early autumn (September–October)

How to do it: on foot