Visit Trabocchi Coast by Self-Drive: The Most Scenic Road on the Adriatic
The Trabocchi Coast by self-drive is one of the finest coastal routes in central Italy — a stretch of the Abruzzo Adriatic shoreline between Ortona in the north and Vasto in the south, named for the ancient wooden fishing platforms that still stand on the rocks above the water at intervals along the coast. The Via Verde — the green cycling and walking path that follows the old railway line along the cliff edge — has made this coast internationally known in recent years, but the road that runs parallel above it offers an equally rewarding perspective on a coastline of considerable beauty: rocky headlands, small fishing harbors, trabocchi visible from the road above, and a succession of beaches and inlets that the Adriatic reveals and conceals as the road rises and falls along the cliff. It is one of those drives that justifies itself kilometer by kilometer without requiring a fixed destination.
The Trabocchi of Abruzzo
The trabocchi of the Abruzzo coast are the most numerous and best-preserved concentration of these ancient fishing structures in Italy — more than those of Molise to the south or the isolated examples further north, and in better condition overall. Each trabocco is built on a natural rock ledge that extends into the sea, with a platform of wooden beams, a system of long projecting arms — the antenne — carrying a large square net, and a winch mechanism on the platform for raising and lowering it. The net is lowered into the water and raised after a period, capturing whatever fish pass beneath it without active pursuit. Many of the trabocchi along the Abruzzo coast have been converted into restaurants where the catch from the platform — sea bass, bream, mullet, octopus — is served to diners who reach the structure by a wooden gangway from the road above. Eating lunch on a trabocco, with the Adriatic visible through the gaps in the planking below and the coast stretching in both directions, is the experience that most comprehensively represents what this coast offers.
The Towns: Ortona, Lanciano, and Vasto
The trabocchi coastline is anchored at either end by towns of considerable character. Ortona, at the northern end, is a port city of medieval and modern layers — its Norman castle and Aragonese cathedral coexisting with the memory of one of the most brutal battles of the Second World War, fought street by street through the town in December 1943. The Canadian War Cemetery above the town is one of the most moving memorials in Italy and a regular destination for Canadian visitors whose families lost relatives in the battle. Inland from the coast, Lanciano is one of the most complete medieval towns in Abruzzo, its historic center of four distinct medieval quarters preserving a Roman bridge, an Aragonese market building, and a cathedral built over an earlier structure. Vasto, at the southern end of the coast, is a clifftop town of Baroque palaces and panoramic views that commands the widest vista over the southern Adriatic from its terraced gardens.
The Trabocchi Cycling Path
The Via Verde dei Trabocchi — the cycling and walking path that follows the old coastal railway line for 38 kilometers between Ortona and Vasto — is the most celebrated recreational route in Abruzzo and one of the finest coastal paths in Italy. The converted railway tunnels and viaducts that carry the path above the sea at intervals along the cliff provide views and experiences that the road above cannot replicate, and the combination of a self-drive along the coastal road with a section of the cycling path on foot or by bike covers the full dimension of what this coast offers.
The Trabocchi Coast on an Abruzzo Self-Drive
The Trabocchi Coast connects naturally into a self-guided tour of Abruzzo that combines the coast with the Abruzzo countryside and the national parks of the interior, and extends south toward the trabocchi of Molise at Termoli. Explore the full Abruzzo region to plan your itinerary, then contact our team to start building your trip, or learn more about how a self-guided tour works.
