Hi All,
I just returned from Italy. I had an afternoon to kill so I took a drive to Roseto ValFortore. Thought I'd share some of it with the board. I drove over from the west, getting off the Autostrade at Benevento onto SS90bis eventually to SS130 entering Roseto from the south passing thru "Castelfranco in Miscano", another very pretty town by the way. The drive in was a bit treacherous. It was mostly gravel road and some of was washed out. It was raining pretty hard though so that didn't help driving conditions. It took about an hour from Benevento to get there. There has to be a better way to get into town. I'd be interested in others' driving experiences to the town.

Anyway, the farmroad quickly gave way to the town entrance after driving down the valley across the Fortore River and back up the hill. The first thing I made note of was the cemetary on the left and the school shortly after which seemed pretty nice complete with a park. Then the town quickly gets dense and there's no sign dirt anywhere. The roads are cobblestone and cement buildings are right on top of the street, somewhat like a sidestreet in the historical part of Rome. Unfortunately it was downpouring (even hail at one point!) and I just couldn't explore like I wanted to. We stopped at the only cafe in town where everyone seemed to be congregating, had a cappuccinno, and struck up a conversation with some of the locals.

There was a man visiting from Canada who spoke some English and I talked with him some. The lesson learned is that if you go looking for relatives, know their nicknames. At one point, he said "These names you mention are very common here. Anyone of us could be your relative. If you have a nickname then we can say yes or no". Even though I didn't find any relatives, it was nice to be there and speak with the locals. They were all so friendly although a bit amused when we arrived.

I checked out the magazine store across the street from the cafe after asking about books on Roseto. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything. I got the feeling that was the only store that would have books. Has anyone been to Roseto and purchased books?

I didn't have enough time to explore and the rain made that pointless anyway. I'd be interested in suggestions on places to visit (stores, restaurants, etc). Admittedly, I haven't checked the archives on the board.

If you plan to visit Roseto ValFortore, do your homework. It will make the trip much more worth while.

Greg