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Our search for quality and style, blended with a yearning for simple, peaceful exclusivity, led us to this wonderful undiscovered, unspoilt and yet stunningly beautiful area on the edge of the Abruzzo National Park – Italy’s most famous nature reserve. This is “Alpine” country. Flat valley floors, lush with woods, rivers and agriculture, suddenly give way to steep-sided often sheer mountain walls on which flowers, trees, houses and often whole villages seem to cling precariously. |
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Along the valley floor, small mountains rise without foothill preamble. On top of these improbable, almost surreal peaks, sit tiny village clusters, the glisten of the ancient wall and roof colours contrasting with the lush green landscape. Yesterday’s fortifications are an aesthetic delight today. |
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Our hotels and accommodation are centred in the magnificent old mountain village of San Donato, Val di Comino, and the small twin-towns of Atina Superiore and Atina Inferiore situated on the river Melfa some 8 kms distant. Atina is 12km along the valley floor from the pretty little town of Sora on the river Liri – a visit to the fascinating bijou shops and markets of Sora are a must! The small city of Cassino on the main Rome - Naples Autostrada is around 15km away. |
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This is a perfect location to take a break from the stress and pressures of everyday living, to celebrate a special occasion, or just to take time out. This is also a low-stress and low-cost way of visiting the bustle of both Naples and Rome that are just one and a half hours distant. You can marvel at Rome – “The largest open air museum in the world” and you can “See Naples and die” without being discouraged from visiting these legendary cities because of their reputation for hustle and hassle. Visit them for the day and then retreat to the hills for peaceful reflection. |
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The stunning beauty of the Comino Valley is almost impossible to photograph due to the sheer grandeur of the landscape. Mountains, rivers, woods and verdant pastures – all are here. Around every turn in the road and with every move of one’s gaze there are beautiful villages to behold, all containing a fascinating mixture of architecture and style. The area was devastated in an earthquake in 1349 but much remains, adding to the medieval, baroque and more modern styles to display a continuous history of the area. |
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The valley has been a cradle of human settlement for thousands of years. The Samnite dominion ruled here long before the Romans and there is evidence that a sophisticated civilisation existed here some 3,000 years ago. After the fall of Rome and subsequent barbarian invasions, the area changed hands between the Normans, Spanish and various Dukes and Kings reflecting the transient and unstable nature of post Roman, pre-modern, Italian history. The area finally became part of the unified Kingdom of Italy in 1860. |
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Like so many rural and farming areas, significant depopulation has taken place over the years, as inhabitants left the valley to seek work in the cities, towns and overseas. This trend has only recently slowed and may even be reversing but its legacy is a beautiful, open, peaceful and unhurried valley close to comfortable low-cost transportation, yet, rare nowadays, remaining an almost completely unknown area, unspoilt and undeveloped for mass tourism. |
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