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Montorio al Vomano is the largest municipality in the hinterland of Teramo with a population of about 8,000 inhabitants and is located at 263 m asl, about 20 kilometers from the provincial capital Teramo in a valley on the left bank of the Vomano river surrounded by the beautiful frame of the Gran Sasso d'Italia mountain range.
As for almost all the municipalities of Teramo it is made up of many fractions, some of which are relatively populous. Precisely because of this position in the past, it has represented a relevant crossroads for businesses, but still retains a relative importance, thanks to the industriousness of its inhabitants.
Since it is located right at the entrance of the National Park of Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga is also the starting point of the so-called Strada Maestra del Parco, a route that unfolds along the old highway 80 Teramo-L'Aquila that unites Montorio ad Amiternum passing through the evocative Passo delle Capannelle and that follows roughly the ancient Via Cecilia built by the Romans.
Along the way you will find equipped rest areas and restored highway houses transformed into information points and guest houses, as well as enchanting landscapes and beautiful landscapes, to be admired by car, motorbike or bicycle.
Montorio al Vomano and the surrounding area are lands of ancient human settlement. In pre-Roman times the Pretuziano people settled here, precisely on the left bank of the Vomano river, while the right one marked the beginning of the territories populated by Vestini.
For some historians and scholars the original historical center of the town was perched on a hill on the site of the ancient Beregra or Beretra mentioned by Ptolemy when he states that "[...] the cities of Pretuzio, which are more east of the Marsi, are Beregra o Beretra, Interamnia, [...] ". Even today Montorio dedicates a memory to this historical anecdote having named one of its main streets "Via Beretra".
Subsequently, in Roman times, it was destroyed in the war against the Goths led by Belisarius and Narses, generals of Justinian, and virtually nothing remained of the village. But always in Roman times it flourished again and, given its strategic position, it became an important commercial and handicraft crossroads, also attested by the presence of a temple erected in honor of Ercole, of which some remains can still be seen in the Salara district.
In the early Middle Ages it was known as Mons Aureus, or "Monte d'Oro", from which it subsequently derived its current name. From 1350 to the early 1500s it was a fief of the Camponeschi of L'Aquila, but the prerogatives of this noble family on the territory were not always peaceful. In 1486, in fact, there was the so-called "conspiracy of the Barons", ie the uprising against some new taxes decided by Alfonso of Aragon that led, on May 7 of that year, to a real armed conflict near the inhabited.
Later, as a result of the marriage of Vittoria Camponeschi with Giovanni Carafa, it passed to the Carafa of Naples and later it was a fief of the Caracciolo family, always from Naples and then from the Crescenzi of Rome until the early 1800s when Napoleon abolished feudalism. During the Risorgimento, Montorio participated in some way to the patriotic events and the unitary process, including some arrested and killed among its citizens, including the doctor and scientist Francesco Martegiani, who died in prison in 1851.
The most popular dishes in Montorio al Vomano are fully integrated into the Teramo culinary tradition, thus favoring the first and second courses of meat. As for the first ones, the macaroni on the guitar with pallottine are particularly famous, according to the following recipe (4-5 people):
- for the sauce with the pellets: 250 gr. of ground (beef but it can be of mixed meats, pork, beef, castrated), 20 gr. Parmesan cheese for the pellets and grated parmesan or pecorino cheese to put on the dough, an egg, chopped tomatoes (preferably homemade preserves), celery, carrot and onion, nutmeg, salt, extra virgin olive oil, a small piece of bacon, peppercorns and a small piece of pepper;
- for the dough: 3 eggs, 150 g 00 flour, 150 g semolina flour, half a tablespoon of oil, salt.
First of all it is necessary to prepare pasta with eggs, oil, salt and flour. Knead everything and make a ball and then let it rest for about an hour. Using a rolling pin, roll out a sheet of a few millimeters thick, otherwise use a pasta machine. The same goes for the macaroni on the guitar: if you do not have the guitar to use a square-section scissor.
The next step is to prepare the dough for the pellets with minced meat, a little salt, a grated nutmeg, Parmesan and egg. You must knead well with your hands and make very small meatballs (roughly like a hazelnut or even less). Boil them in boiling broth, even vegetable, or water.
Finely chop the flavors, ie carrot, celery and onion and fry them in a little oil and a piece of bacon that will later be removed. Add the tomato and as soon as the pellets have warmed. Add some peppercorns and chilli pepper. Lower the heat to a minimum and let the sauce cook for an hour and a half, maximum two.
Boil the water for the pasta, boil the macaroni for a minute and season with the sauce of pellets and Parmesan cheese (but the pecorino cheese is good too).
- Altavilla
- Case Vernesi
- Collevecchio
- Cusciano
- Faiano
- Leognano
- Montorio al Vomano (City)
- San Giovanni
- San Lorenzo
- Schiaviano
- Villa Brozzi
- Villa Maggiore
- Villa Vallucci
By Car
- From Rome / L'Aquila (A24) Exit Colledara then direction Montorio al Vomano or exit following Basciano, then SS 150 towards Montorio.
- From Bologna / Ancona (A14) Exit Teramo / Giulianova / Mosciano Sant'Angelo, then SS80 towards Teramo, continue towards Montorio.
- From Pescara (A14) Exit Roseto degli Abruzzi, then SS150 towards Montorio, or exit following Teramo / Giulianova / Mosciano Sant'Angelo, then SS80 towards Teramo, continue towards Montorio.
