 The
name Abruzzo appears to derive from the Latin form Aprutium. The name Aprutium, however, was not in use in
Roman times when the region was known at various times
as Picenum, Sabina et Samnium, Flaminia et Picenum
and/or Campania et Samnium. This region was known as
Aprutium in the middle ages arising from four possible
sources. Many think it is apparently a corruption of
Praetutium, or rather of the name of the people
Praetutii, applied to their chief city, Interamnaes, now
present day Teramo. Another etymology is from the Latin
"aper" (boar) so that Aprutium was the "land of boars"
or from "abruptum" (rugged, steep).
A more recent etymology is from the Latin expression "a
Bruttiis" (from the Bruttii) meaning the land that began
from the Bruzi people, who moved south to occupy
Calabria.
One region until 1963, Abruzzo and Molise - previously
just plain Abruzzi - together make Italy's transition
from north to south. Both are sparsely populated
mountainous regions prone to earthquakes, and both have
always been outside the mainstream of Italian affairs.
You could spend a whole and very varied holiday in
Abruzzo.
Bordered by the Apennines, it holds some of Italy's
wildest terrain: silent valleys, vast untamed mountain
plains and abandoned hill-villages, as well as some
great historic towns, many of them rarely visited by
outsiders.
But this is only half the story: the Abruzzesi have done
much to pull their region out of the poverty trap,
developing resorts on the long, sandy Adriatic coastline
and exploiting the tourist potential of a large,
mountainous national park.
Abruzzo is a mountainous region where agriculture is
difficult and sheep-farming dominates. The diet of the
area is consequently dominated by lamb: abbacchio,
unweaned baby lamb that is usually cut into chunks and
roasted; and castrato, castrated lamb, when the meat is
often cooked as a casserole with tomatoes, wine, herbs,
onion and celery (intingolo di castrato), while the
innards are typically roasted in the oven (alenoto di
castrato). Look out as well for agnello a cutturo, an
aromatic herby casserole served with bread. The other
crucial ingredient in the region's cuisine is chilli (peperoncino
in the rest of Italy, but known locally as pepedinie),
used liberally in all kinds of dishes; in a region prone
to magic and superstition, it is believed to be a cure
for ailments ranging from neuralgia to arthritis.
Abruzzo is most famous for maccheroni alla chitarra,
made by pressing a sheet of pasta over a wooden frame
wired like a guitar; usually it is served with a tomato
or lamb sauce. Other local pastas include the roughly
cut strengozze and maltagliati, both inevitably served
with a lamb sauce. Cheese tends to be pecorino - most
often mature and grainy like parmesan, but you may come
across young cheeses that are still mild, soft and
milky.
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