Beautiful Sulmona has a dark secret. Buried deep within the Apennine Mountain range and perched just below the ancient monastery of Santa Onofrio in a Hamlet ironically named Fonte D’Amore (5km outside Sulmona), is the Prisoner of War (POW) Camp 78. During the first World War, Camp 78 played host to Austrian prisoners captured in the Isonzo and Trentino campaigns. In World War II, the infamous Desert Rats” of North Africa (mainly British, Australian, New Zealand and Commonwealth soldiers) were incarcerated here.

On a beautiful September morning in 1943 – with the Italian government in near collapse – the POWs of Camp 78 awoke to discover that all the guards had deserted. In the following hours, German troops arrived, but not before thousands of prisoners, – assisted by local residents – escaped into the hills. The remaining interns were captured and transported to POW Camps in Germany. The escaped soldiers fled along the Gustav Line. This clandestine route, known also as the Freedom Trail, stretched from the Nazi controlled North West to the liberated lands of South-Eastern Italy. Amidst densely forested lowlands, ancient villages and searing mountainous routes, thousands trekked the perilous route in a bid for freedom.

Today the trek is commemorated through an annual 3-Day Event attended by the President of the Republic of Italy and accompanied by his marching Guard of Men in their colorful uniforms. The Celebration retraces the clandestine journey taken by thousands of POWs. The Event is a joyous experience of spectacular walks through the magnificent Majella National Park; accompanied with the best food and wines Abruzzo has to offer. The evenings are filled with theatrical performance and emotional memoirs sung and recited in ethereal ruins such as the church of Santa Biagio.

The Freedom Trail has been held each year for generations by Italians for Italians. Now the word is out. The secret is no longer…a secret! The experience of “unadulterated and contagious joy” is being shared by more and more people and particularly families wishing to holiday together. It is also a wonderful way for parents to share a joyous experience that can also be a lesson of what grand-parents and great grand-parents fought and sacrificed so much for so that we can enjoy the freedoms we now take for granted today.
The Freedom Trail Event is a 60km hike over 3-days. It takes place each year from the 3rd-5th, starting in Sulmona, then meandering through Campo di Giove and Taranta Peligna and finally ending in Casoli.

To find out more contact Victor at Legacy.