Can you love an Italian flower name for its meaning more than its English counterpart? Sunflower in Italian becomes ‘Girasole’ its meaning twist or turn dizzily rotating toward the sun in Italian, giving you the immediate understanding of what must be the most universally loved flowers and crops of hot yellow.
Like cat and dog people you almost feel there is two camps: one for sunflowers and one for poppies. Whereas June is the month of poppies in Abruzzo, July brings sunflowers that captivate, brightening any road trip, as if you needed it, traversing across the region. When the temperature outside is 38C+ you wonder how they stand so strong, unbowed, as we cower away in the shadowlands.
We snapped this and ‘March of the Sunflowers’ below in the rolling hills that span from the city of Teramo across to the coast. They seem to grow particularly well in the eroded field/furrows in the area that by the time you get to Atri are known as calanchi.
Author: Sam Dunham
Sam is a freelance SEO content creator and IGCSE Geography and English teacher at Istituto Cristo Re in Rome. She also runs the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, sharing stories and insights about this captivating region.
Alongside raising a teenager, Sam hosts guests at her family’s traditional home, the Little House of the Firefly in Abruzzo, offering a warm welcome and insider tips on local culture, food, and hidden gems.
