10 days, 9 nights · Best for Multigenerational families reconnecting with Abruzzese heritage
Roots of Abruzzo: A Multigenerational Family Heritage Journey 11 Nights / 10 Days
Three generations, one homeland, rediscover your Italian roots together.
Every Italian-American family carries a story that begins in a small town in the old country, and for so many that town is in Abruzzo. Roots of Abruzzo is a multigenerational journey created for families who want to travel together, from grandparents to grandchildren, and rediscover where their story began. Cradled between the highest peaks of the Apennines and the Adriatic Sea, Abruzzo is a land of walled hill towns, shepherd traditions, and Sunday tables that stretch for hours, the Italy your grandparents remember and your grandchildren will never forget.
Over eleven unhurried days you settle into just two welcoming home bases, Sulmona and L’Aquila, so no one is forever packing a suitcase. Together you wander ancestral villages like Pacentro, learn to shape Sulmona’s famous sugared almonds, picnic beside the crystal-clear Tirino, and stand in awe beneath the castle of Rocca Calascio. A car and driver carry the whole family from town to town, meals become reunions, and every generation finds its own kind of wonder, closing with a final night in Rome. This is more than a vacation. It is a homecoming.
Your Adventure Starts Here
This is a starting point. Change the nights, choose the style of hotel, add the experiences you want. Your planner takes it from there.
Sulmona, Abruzzo
Sulmona
The Peligna Valley home where your family's story begins
Sulmona welcomes you home, the elegant small city at the heart of the Peligna Valley and the gateway to your ancestral villages. Beneath medieval aqueducts and snow-capped peaks, three generations settle into a rhythm of shared meals, quiet streets, and the anticipation that builds before you walk the family's own hill towns. This is where you pause to catch your breath and prepare for the emotional center of the journey.
The days here balance discovery and connection. You wander Piazza Garibaldi, watch confetti artisans shape sugared almonds in historic workshops, and spend a day in Pacentro, tracing your family's footsteps through stone lanes that time has barely touched. Between those moments you gather beside the Tirino, one of Europe's clearest rivers, for an afternoon of easy joy and riverside picnics that suit every age.
Arranged for you: We arrange your hotel in Sulmona, private transfers from Rome, a guided walk of the city center, a confetti workshop visit, a full-day exploration of ancestral villages including Pacentro with local expertise, and a riverside excursion to the Tirino near Capestrano.
Your hotel
Styles, not names. We name the property once we know your dates and your party.
Interests in Sulmona
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Private cooking class with an Abruzzese grandmother Day Trips · Half day
The whole family gathers in a home kitchen to make chitarra pasta and lamb arrosticini under the patient hands of a local nonna.
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Extended genealogy research and records visit Day Trips · Half day
We arrange access to municipal archives and church registries in your ancestral towns, with a translator to help uncover birth, marriage and emigration records.
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Hiking or horseback riding in the Majella foothills Day Trips · Half day
A guided nature walk or family-friendly ride through the valleys and beech forests surrounding the Peligna plain.
Day by day in Sulmona
You arrive at Rome Fiumicino, where your family’s driver is waiting to gather everyone, luggage and all, for the scenic drive east into the mountains of Abruzzo. As Rome fades behind you, olive groves and stone villages rise along the road.
By afternoon you reach Sulmona, your welcoming home for the next several days. Settle into your hotel, catch your breath, and come together for a first Abruzzese dinner, the beginning of a week of shared tables and rediscovered roots.
This morning a local guide walks the family through Sulmona, one of the most beautiful small cities in Italy and the birthplace of the Roman poet Ovid. Grand Piazza Garibaldi opens before you, framed by a soaring medieval aqueduct where children can run and grandparents can rest in the shade.
Sulmona is famous the world over for confetti, the delicate sugared almonds shaped into flowers and bouquets. At a historic workshop the whole family watches this sweet art come to life, and everyone leaves with a treat and a memory to carry home.
Today is the heart of your journey: a day among the ancestral hill towns of the Peligna Valley, led by Pacentro, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Its medieval towers and steep stone lanes look much as they did when your family first knew them.
Wander together past old doorways and quiet piazzas, listen for familiar surnames, and feel the generations connect across time. A long, generous lunch of local specialties turns the afternoon into a true family reunion.
After the emotion of the roots day, today is pure, easy joy for every age. You gather beside the Tirino, one of the clearest rivers in Europe, where the water runs so pure that fish seem to hover in mid-air.
Little ones spot herons among the reeds while grandparents relax on the grassy banks near Capestrano. A leisurely riverside picnic makes for one of those simple, golden afternoons the whole family will remember.
L'Aquila, Abruzzo
L'Aquila
The mountain capital beneath the Gran Sasso peaks
L'Aquila becomes your second Abruzzo home, a proud mountain city ringed by high peaks and rebuilt with quiet resilience. From this base the family ventures into the wildest corners of the region: castles perched in clouds, vast plateaus where horses roam free, and muraled villages that mix medieval stone with contemporary art. The altitude brings cooler air, longer views, and a sense that you have climbed into the true heart of the Apennines.
The rhythm here turns more adventurous. You count the ninety-nine spouts of the medieval fountain, marvel at the pink-and-white facade of Collemaggio, and stand together at Rocca Calascio, the highest fortress in Italy, with the whole Abruzzo spread below. Between the castles and plateaus you discover Aielli's open-air murals and the green meadows of Roccaraso, giving the grandchildren stories they will carry home and repeat for years.
Arranged for you: We arrange your hotel in L'Aquila, private transfers including stops at Bominaco and Lago di Capodacqua, a guided walking tour of the historic center and Collemaggio, a full-day excursion to Rocca Calascio, Campo Imperatore and Santo Stefano di Sessanio, and a day exploring Roccaraso and Aielli.
Your hotel
Styles, not names. We name the property once we know your dates and your party.
Interests in L'Aquila
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Funicular ride and Gran Sasso summit hike Day Trips · Half day
Take the cable car from Fonte Cerreto toward Campo Imperatore, then walk an easy trail with sweeping views of the massif and valley.
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Visit to a mountain shepherd and cheese tasting Day Trips · Half day
Meet a family who still makes peccanino and ricotta in the high pastures, taste the cheeses, and hear the old rhythms of transhumance.
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Stargazing at Torre delle Stelle observatory Day Trips · Half day
Return to Aielli after dark for a private session at the hilltop observatory, where the whole family explores constellations and planets through the telescope.
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Private falconry demonstration at a medieval castle Day Trips · Half day
Watch trained hawks and falcons take flight above a fortress courtyard, then learn the ancient art from a working falconer.
Day by day in L'Aquila
Today the family moves to its second home base, trading the Peligna Valley for the higher country around L’Aquila, with a few wonders along the way. You pause at the medieval oratory of Bominaco, where rare frescoes glow in the quiet stone.
Nearby, the emerald Lago di Capodacqua shimmers so clearly you can see the ruins beneath its surface, a magical stop for curious kids and cameras alike. By evening you settle into L’Aquila, cradled beneath the Gran Sasso.
This morning a local guide leads the family into the elegant heart of L’Aquila, the proud mountain capital of Abruzzo, lovingly rebuilt and full of quiet resilience. You stroll grand piazzas and honey-colored streets at a pace that suits every generation.
Pause at the UNESCO-listed Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio, with its beautiful pink-and-white facade, then let the children count the ninety-nine carved faces of the medieval Fountain of the 99 Spouts, each one different, a centuries-old mystery.
Today brings the grand family adventure. You climb toward Rocca Calascio, the highest fortress in the Apennines, floating almost 1,500 meters above the valley with views that seem to reach forever, a fairy-tale castle come to life.
You cross the vast Campo Imperatore plateau, often called Italy’s Little Tibet, where wild horses graze beneath towering peaks, and wander the restored medieval village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio. It is the kind of day the grandchildren will describe for years.
A day of fresh air and fun awaits. You begin in Roccaraso, Abruzzo’s favorite mountain town, ringed by green meadows in summer and snowy slopes in winter, with plenty of room for the family to roam.
Then you discover Aielli, an ancient village whose stone walls have become a canvas for bright, contemporary murals, an open-air gallery crowned by the Torre delle Stelle observatory, where the whole family can reach for the stars.
Rome, Lazio
Rome
One last Italian night in the Eternal City
You return to Rome for a final night together, trading the mountains for the marble and monuments of the capital. The afternoon is yours to rest or wander, and the evening belongs to a celebratory dinner, the kind of feast that turns the journey into a story the whole family will tell. Tomorrow you fly home, but tonight you are still in Italy, still gathered around an Italian table, still three generations strong.
Arranged for you: We arrange your hotel near Fiumicino or in central Rome, private transfer from L'Aquila, and transfer to the airport the following morning.
Your hotel
Styles, not names. We name the property once we know your dates and your party.
Interests in Rome
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Private evening tour of the Colosseum and Forum Day Trips · Half day
Walk through the ruins after the crowds have gone, with a guide who brings the ancient city to life for every generation.
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Gelato-making class in Trastevere Day Trips · Half day
The whole family learns to churn Italian ice cream by hand in a historic gelateria, then tastes the results.
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Farewell dinner at a family-run trattoria Day Trips · Half day
We reserve a private room for your group at a beloved Roman table, with wines chosen to match the menu and the memories.
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Ancient and Old Rome Walking Tour, Skipping the line at Colosseum Guided Tours and Sightseeing · Tour in a DayUnlock the secrets of the Eternal City, skip the lines and step into the world of emperors, gladiators, and gods on this lively, story-filled Roman adventure.
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Full Day Rome Tour Guided Tours and Sightseeing · Tour in a DaySee Rome your way in one unforgettable day. Vatican treasures, Imperial ruins, and iconic monuments with the ease of a dedicated tour escort.
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Papal Audience in Saint Peter’s, Vatican City Guided Tours and Sightseeing · Tour in a DayWitness a truly unforgettable moment in Rome, attend a Papal Audience and receive the Pope’s blessing.
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Rome by Bicycles Tour with English Speaking Guide Guided Tours and Sightseeing · Tour in a DaySee more of Rome with less effort, cruise past iconic landmarks on a fun, guided bike ride made for everyone.
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Rome by Night Guided Tour Guided Tours and Sightseeing · Tour in a Day
See Rome at its most magical, an evening stroll through illuminated fountains, grand piazzas, and ancient ruins.
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Rome by Night guided Tour with Dinner & Show Guided Tours and Sightseeing · Tour in a Day
Fall for Rome after dark. Glowing landmarks, a romantic evening stroll, and dinner with live music to seal the moment.
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Rome: The Eternal & Ancient Rome Tour Combo Guided Tours and Sightseeing · Tour in a DayExperience the magic of the Eternal City with a full-day tour showcasing Rome’s most iconic historical sites.
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Rome: The Eternal City Tour Guided Tours and Sightseeing · Tour in a Day
Discover Rome’s most iconic monuments in comfort on this tour.
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Skip the Line: Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel Guided tours Guided Tours and Sightseeing · Tour in a Day
Skip the lines and step straight into the Vatican’s greatest masterpieces. Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica with an expert guide.
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The Ancient Rome Tour Guided Tours and Sightseeing · Tour in a Day
Walk in the footsteps of emperors and gladiators, discover the power, passion, and innovation that shaped the world in Ancient Rome.
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The Ancient Rome Walking Tour, Skipping the line at Colosseum Guided Tours and Sightseeing · Tour in a Day
Experience the ancient highlights of the Eternal City with a guided walking tour that takes you through Rome’s most iconic landmarks.
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The Christian Rome & Catacombs Tour with Hotel Pick Up Guided Tours and Sightseeing · Tour in a DayJourney through Rome’s spiritual heart, explore ancient basilicas, sacred relics, and the origins of Christianity in the Eternal City.
Day by day in Rome
You say a fond farewell to the mountains and travel together back to Rome, trading Abruzzo’s wild beauty for the timeless grandeur of the Eternal City.
The afternoon is free to wander or rest, and the evening belongs to one last family feast, a fitting celebration of the journey, the homeland, and the generations who shared it.
Day 10
Arrivederci, Italy, Until the Family Returns
After breakfast, your family is transferred to Rome Fiumicino for the flight home, suitcases a little heavier and hearts a great deal fuller.
You leave Abruzzo carrying something priceless: the sights, tastes, and stories of the homeland, now shared across three generations. Arrivederci, until the family returns.
Why plan with Trips 2 Italy?
Designed around you by Italian-born planners
Guides, drivers and boats for your party alone
Hand-selected hotels in every destination
Local English-speaking guides who know their city
Met at the airport, private transfers throughout
Testimonials
Hear from travelers who have planned Italy with us
They took the time to understand our preferences and designed an itinerary that was comfortable, personalized, and enjoyable. They offered thoughtful recommendations while never being pushy.
We missed our connecting flight in Munich. I had just got through customs and was looking up the number to call when Trips 2 Italy called me. They told me exactly what to do and they already knew what flight we had been rebooked on.
Ready to make it yours?
Send us this adventure with your changes. An Italian-born planner builds the first full draft and calls you to walk through it.
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Questions travelers ask
Is this trip suitable for young children and grandparents together?
Yes. The pace is relaxed, the days are flexible, and a car with driver handles all the transfers, so every generation can enjoy Abruzzo comfortably. Activities are chosen to delight kids and grandparents alike.
How much moving around is there?
Very little. The family settles into just two home bases, Sulmona and L’Aquila, plus a final night in Rome, which keeps packing and unpacking to a minimum, ideal for a multigenerational group.
Are international flights included?
Yes. The package includes round trip flights in economy class from New York, using the JFK and EWR departure gates, arriving into and returning from Rome Fiumicino. Alternative U.S. departure cities are available on request.
Can we visit our own ancestral town?
Absolutely. Every journey is fully customizable. Tell us your family’s town or region in Abruzzo and we will build a visit, and even help arrange records or local introductions where possible, right into your itinerary.
How does the family get around?
A comfortable vehicle with an English-speaking driver carries the whole family for arrival transfers and touring days, so grandparents and grandchildren can travel together with ease.
What kind of hotels are used?
You stay in hand selected 3-Star, 4-Star or 5-Star hotels chosen for comfort, character and family-friendly rooms, matched to your preferences and budget.