The Pilgrim’s Trail

For centuries, pilgrims have made their way to Christian Rome through the mountainous terrain of Abruzzo. Today, this relatively unknown walkers’ paradise is a wonderous discovery of medieval hermitages, abbeys and sacred retreats of the early pilgrims that holds great significance to Christendom. So why is the Pilgrims Trail in Abruzzo relatively unknown to the rest of the world? Why is it not as famous as the Camino de Santiago Pilgrims Trail in Spain?

It is here that you will find the sacred remains of St Thomas in Ortona and the Shroud of Jesus Christ sheltered in the nearby Sanctuary of Manoppello. Considered the most significant Christian relic along with the Holy Shroud of Turin, one wonders how this truly important symbol to global Christianity has remained a relative secret to the rest of the world, for so long.

Today’s pilgrims that come to Sulmona, follow the footsteps of Sant Celestino.

Before he became Pope, Celestino lived as a monk for most of his life in these mountains. Today one can still visit the magnificent Santo Spirito del Morrone Abbey perched just above the town, the several retreats and abbeys built in his name and the Basilica de Sulmona where his remains are entombed. Locally known as the Celestino Pilgrims trail, you can follow the Christian path to the San Venanzio Hermitage that overlooks the gorge in Raiano; the Abbeys of San Liberatore a Majella dating back to 856AD and the remains of Sant Clemente (one of the first Popes after St Peter) at Sant Clemente a Casauria; the monasteries and cathedrals of Santa Maria Assunta and San Pelino in Corfinio and the spectacular frescos at the Oratory of San Pellegrino in Bominaco in the foothills of Gran Sasso, considered by many to be the Sistine Chapel of Abruzzo.

So why is the Pilgrims Trail in Abruzzo not as well-known as the more famous Camino de Santiago Pilgrims Trail in Spain? Well, let’s just say…it is yet another Abruzzo secret!