Sulmona is an elegant and magical town. Nestled in the mountains of Abruzzo it was white from a recent snow fall when we visited it a few days ago. We were shown around by the lovely Susanna and Katy, who run Welcome to Sulmona, the only English language insider’s guide to visitors to Sulmona.
Katy is English and moved to Sulmona with her family a few years ago, attracted to the area because it is not only close to Rome (so close to a flight to the UK), but a beautiful and relatively unspoilt part of Italy. She and Susanna, who is Italian but speaks perfect English, are passionate about their town and the whole of the Paligna valley. We had a long walk through the streets of Sulmona, past the beautiful Piazza Garibaldi which has what I am told has a wonderful farmer’s market on Saturdays.
Susanna described the medieval Easter procession, which involves life-sized wooden statues of various religious characters such as St John, St Peter and the Madonna, being paraded around the 13th century piazza. The performance culminates when the Madonna’s black cloak falls and white doves are released when she realises her son has risen from the dead. Read here for more about this amazing performance, which Susanna watches every year together with thousands of other people.
Sulmona is well known for its confetti (sugared almonds), which we tasted when we went to the pretty-as-a-picture Rapone Panfilo confetti shop. Here the confetti are made in small batches, from local ingredients and seasonally, using not only almonds but dried fruit and spices such as figs, cherries, ginger and cinnamon and either covered in a hard coloured sugar shell or chocolate.
We also had a sweet and delicious concoction called a ca’ffetto, which is an espresso coffee with a sweet creamy concoction on top made with William Di Carlo confetti at Caffè Ovidio in Corso Ovidio.
We only spent a brief half day in Sulmona (the rest of the day was spent in snow-laden Scanno and beyond) as part my time in Abruzzo that Giulia from Casale Centurione had arranged (I wrote about Giulia in my last blog post). I loved the elegance and beauty of this town that up until the day I saw it, I knew nothing about. Katy and Susanna certainly know their town and if you plan to visit, you should definitely look them up. You can find them on instagram (@welcometosulmona) and on their Facebook page of the same name. I will definitely make Sulmona part of my next Italian trip, perhaps returning in early summer when it is warm and the trees are green and lush.
italy on my mind 
This town looks so charming and your photos are so beautiful! I really would like to explore Abruzzo more..
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thank you! this was the first time I had been and I love it – so close to central Italy and relatively unspoilt. A gem!
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What a great looking place!
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Dear Paula, thanks for spreading out the word on how beautiful Sulmona is! “A jewel nestled in mountains”, in the words of many – but your pictures make it even prettier 🙂 We look forward to seeing you here again, and showing you more of the hidden gems in our mountains and countryside. Keep enjoying your Italian holiday, and a big hug to both of you! (Also from Ugo 😉
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What perfect words. Big hug to you as well and yes we are having an amazing time – so much food and beauty xx
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Wow-do I need to get to Abruzzo soon! Thanks for sharing these wonderful places.
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Love this post Paola! I have been visiting Sulmona since I was about 7 years old.. My parents were born in Prezza just a few kms away.. I am addicted to torrone and confetti of course. Gorgeous pics! Baci x
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Ah what a lovely connection to have to Sulmona. Yes the sweets are delightful!! X
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A great fun post, dear friend! xxx
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We love this town!…….So much so that we have decided to live here for part of the year. The town’s character is unspoiled, tranquil and rooted in history. Although I’m not sure I want to open it up to millions of tourists, it is gratifying to learn that others find this place as special as we do. It is always so good to come ‘home’.
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Ciao Marcella, I wouldn’t think millions of tourists would be right but I would think that it would be lovely if more people knew about it and recognised it for its beauty. You are lucky to call it home
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Ciao Paola we are here at the moment, my parents in law are originally from Sulmona and we are all here together for Easter. Last night we saw the Holy Thursday procession in Piazza Garibaldi, it was so beautiful …. I still have goosebumps! The sounds of the band, chorus and the men dragging their feet is one I will never forget. We are here for another week and it’s been lovely having my in laws taking us around. This morning we are going to the market, yay us! Thanks for your beautiful post, I can’t wait to show the Sulmondese!!! Ciao x
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that sounds fantastic, I would love to be there at Easter. Have an amazing time!!
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Oops it’s the Good Friday procession!
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Love this post. My father in law was from Sulmona. We got to back in 2010, and we can’t wait to go back again.
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[…] we met her English-speaking friends Katy and Susanna. After a couple of hours in picturesque Sulmona, we all drove on to the very pretty and snow-covered town of Scanno. On the drive up we […]
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