Bugnara

Bugnara is a small mountain village in the Abruzzo region. The village is perched on the side of the mountain 'Colle Rotondo' and has a picturesque medieval centre.

Bugnara from the valley below

Get in

By train

Bugnara has a tiny railway station, about ten minutes walk away in the valley. About five trains run daily from Sulmona from 6AM until 8PM (the last one runs through Goriano and takes a bit longer).

• 1 Bugnara railway station. (updated May 2020)

By bus

There are actually about three or fours buses a day from Rome Tiburtina bus station that stop in Bugnara on their way to Scanno. The bus stops by the bridge at the bottom of the town. There are about seven local buses a day that run from Sulmona through Introdacqua and Torre Del Nolfi that stop in the main square.

By car

On the A25 take the exit for Anversa (if you are coming from Rome) or Sulmona if you are coming from Pescara. Bugnara is about ten minutes drive away from each exit (follow signs to Introdacqua and Bugnara).

The main square in Bugnara

See Trenitalia and ARPA for timetables.

Get around

Bugnara is small enough to cover entirely on foot.

See

• 1 Church of St. Rosario (Chiesa del Santissimo Rosario). Imposing on the main square and ringing its bells every hour this church dates from 1602. Built in the late baroque style beautiful friezes, stuccoes and relief ceilings. (updated May 2020)
• Streets and alleyways. Bugnara is steep and full of narrow pedestrian streets. Here you can see Bugnara's medieval origins with an incredible patchwork layering of stone and cement. 
• Palazzo Ducale (Fortezza dello Scorpione). This enormous palace consists of imposing buildings started around the 11th Century. The impressive fortifications surround a courtyard where one can see the various stages of its development, including an impressive clock tower. Restoration of the palace is in the works, with a rumoured cooking school to be housed there. 

Small streets and alleyways

• Church of the Madonna delle Neve. Just outside the village this church has some of the most interesting history of Bugnara. Built in the Gothic style around the 11th Century it has an extraordinary herring-bone floor that is actually from the Roman temple upon which the church was built. It also has some very well preserved statues and frescoes, 

Do

• Festival of pecorino cheese. At the end of June there is Pecorino tasting and music. 
• Coffee in the main square. Being a small town, there is always activity and people in the main square. 

Buy

• Local pecorino cheese. Find the local speciality. 
• Markets. There are markets for various goods in the main square. 
• Meat, vegetables, fish (on wheels). Although the village has two well stocked Alimentari (grocery shops) the best thing to do is to find out the times of the meat, vegetable and fish trucks that make their way around the small villages. 

The castle complex of Palazzo Ducale

• Amenities. The village has a post office, hairdressers and a pharmacy. 

Eat

• La Falena (Up a few steps from the bar in the main square). This beautiful little restaurant used to be open in the summer (in 2007) where you could sit in the middle of the ancient ruins and have some lovely local home-cooked food. The sign is still there but I'm not sure that it is still open. 
• Ristorante “Tre archi”. 
• Ristorante - Lago Pesca Sportiva “La Fenice”. 
• Bar Tabacchi “Gino” di Daniele Ritieni. 
• Bar Paninoteca Pizzeria “L’angolino del Comune”. 

Drink

• Have a coffee or a beer at the bar on the Piazza.

Sleep

Plenty of B&Bs and private houses for rent.

• Casa Rosa, ☏ +44 1584 878195. A two bedroom house in the centre of Bugnara. About €300 per week. 

Go next

• Sulmona takes about 10 minutes by car, 40 minutes on a bike or a couple of hours to walk (the walk is pretty nice through the fields in the valley)
• At the top of the village are the beginnings of many beautiful hiking trails up into the hills.

Routes through Bugnara

Rome ← Avezzano ←

W  E

→ Pescara → Adriatic Sea