Click here to view Bascianella in the 'Life in Abruzzo' Google map of the area
Casetta Lucciola is located in Bascianella, a small sleepy hill village that sits just under Italy's highest peak – the Corno Grande in the Gran Sasso Mountains of Abruzzo. The local commune lists 200 inhabitants but we reckon on actually having no more than 60 neighbours within the village itself.
Nearest Main Town/Cities
Located in Abruzzo's northern province of Teramo, it is sandwiched between the university/former capital of the region L'Aquila (50km) and Teramo (24 km). Pescara is a 50-minute drive away, and Rome is a 1 hour & 50 minutes easy drive on A24 autostrada that links Rome to northern Abruzzo.
Nearest Beaches
It is a short 40-minute drive (37 km) to the sandy Adriatic Blue Flag beaches of Pineto, Giulianova, Roseto, Alba Adriatica.
Ski-ing
The Prati di Tivo ski resort is a 45 minute drive (32 km) in good weather and Assergi (32 km) is a 35-minute drive away.
How to get to Bascianella, Abruzzo
By Plane
We generally recommend flying direct to Abruzzo International Airport based in Pescara as it is only a 50 minute drive away. You can fly direct via mostly lo-cost carriers like Ryanair to Pescara Abruzzo from all the destinations below, click here to view the airline and their timetables.
However, as a word of warning over the summer fares do escalate! What is normally a 80 euro return fare from London goes up to over 350 euros over the summer months and in this case we would recommend flying to either of Rome's Airports (generally Roma Ciampino for the lo-cost carriers) which is still only a 1 hour & 50 minutes drive away and good to fly to from any destination not covered in the map above.
Car Hire
We recommend Hertz out of all the car hire companies that we have tried. They are the most cost effective, recharge your deposit on the day and FRIENDLY (particularly at Pescara Airport). Most importantly they don't go overboard in the sense of charging you if you unfortunately have an incident. If you are coming from the UK, book via the Ryanair website and you get a further discount than just booking direct via Hertz's own website. Expect to pay about £90/114 euros for 5 days car-hire. To fill up a car like a Fiat Panda in Italy costs £51/65 euros.(Prices correct July 2008)
Local bus & Coach Companies (ARPA)
Local Abruzzo public transport isn't as bad as when living in the countryside in the UK just 12 miles outside of Guildford only 20 years ago,where we had 1 bus a day to our nearest big town! You will never be stranded in Bascianella, but in saying that unless you are an early bird or are governed by your stomach your holiday travel plans without a car will naturally have to fit in with local Abruzzo work and dining times (08.00-13-00 & 16.00-120.00 – at lunchtime 13.00-16.00 everything closes completely!).
Nearest Main Town
Bascianella > Montorio Vomano – 25 minutes direct
Nearest City
Bascianella >Teramo – 1 hour (1 change at Montorio)
Nearest Beach
Bascianella > Guilianova – 1 hr 50 minutes (1 change at Teramo)
Nearest Airport
Bascianella > Pescara – 2 hours (1 change at Teramo)
Rome
Roma – Staz. Tiburtina >Val Vomano (2.40 hours) > get a taxi from Val Vomano to Bascianella (15 minutes)
Useful local Bus Website Information
Interactive ARPA Abruzzo Bus Timetable
PDF Timetable of Abruzzo Bus Connections within Teramo and to other Abruzzo provinces
Map of the Area
Click here for a map of Bascianella
Click here to view a slideshow of life in Bascianella
