“Moving from Sangritana to Maiella, Pennadomo appears ominously hang down like a threatening natural fortress”: that’s the description of the town by Ettore Paratore in his guide of Abruzzo. The “ominous natural fortress” is simply the majestic Parco delle Lisce, the only heritage of Pennadomo, a natural wonder shaped over millennia. The peculiar indented crags rising high towards the sky make the untouched environment of the town extremely fascinating. The most emblematic crag is “Liscia di Santa Maria”, the symbol of the beauty of Pennadomo.

“Liscia di Santa Maria” is the first of this spectacular Park, whose stones raise around Pennadomo like solemn menhir, starting from the thin Liscia della Morretta and Liscia del Mulino, to the many pinnacles, peaks, and rock spikes. The craigs seem to be compact rocky walls, indeed they are giant slabs generally no more than one metre far from each other, sometimes they are just laid or rest in the middle of fields. On their top, between a crack and another, vegetation flourishes and the Red Kites nests. Cima Fumosa raises solitary on the right of “liscia di Santa Maria” and it makes a good school for “free climbers”, before enjoying the challenging adventure on the Placche dell’Oasi, for a breathtaking sport experience.

“Parco delle Lisce” tells the prehistory of the town, the scene changes on the way to Sangro river, with another wonder: the ancestral Gran Giara Waterfall, created by the stream San Leo in a deep canyon. The scenery is spectacular: over millennia the stream has washed away the softer layers of the rock, revealing the different horizontal and vertical stratifications. Also, in the canyon you feel like an intrepid adventurer as the giant slabs seem on the verge of falling. But they have been standing there for thousand years…

[Credits | Text: Ottavio Di Renzo De Laurentis | Translation: Mirella Rapa | Voice and music: Studio Qreate | Photo: Giovanni Piccirelli]