Fara San Martino: San Martino Gorges and Local History

Fara San Martino combines an impressive natural setting with tangible local and ecclesiastical history. Immediately outside the town, the San Martino Gorges begin as a narrow gorge between high rock walls on the eastern slope of the Maiella. For your travel planning, this means that, alongside the landscape, historical evidence, art, and the development of a local speciality take centre stage.

The San Martino Gorges on the eastern slope of the Maiella

The San Martino Gorges form a 14-kilometre-long gorge route with an elevation difference of 2,300 metres. These two figures help you assess the scale of the natural area and distinguish between different excursion plans without reducing the route to a short destination in the town. For your visit, it is recommended that you contact authorised mountain guides. In bad weather, you should avoid the gorge because of the possibility of falling rocks.

San Martino in Valle: History along Park Trail H1

The surviving remains of San Martino in Valle include an entrance gate, an inner courtyard, a originally three-arched portico, and a bell tower with a gabled roof. The site was first mentioned in 829 as the property of the Santo Stefano in Lucania monastery. San Martino in Valle can be reached from Fara San Martino: After the car park at the San Martino Gorges, follow Park Trail H1. This allows you to combine the historic site with orientation around the gorge, while the individual architectural features retain their own character.

Church, Art, and the Old Village Entrance

The parish church of San Remigio houses the most significant collection of artistic and archaeological assets in Fara San Martino. The painting “The Circumcision” by Antonio D'Errico, known as Tanzio da Varallo, is located in the right aisle. The work is dated to between 1612 and 1614. Another distinctive reference to the town’s history is La Porta, the main entrance to the old village of Fara San Martino. The gate dates from 1708 and features a neoclassical style. For visitors interested in culture, this creates a spectrum ranging from ecclesiastical art to the village’s historic architecture.

The Verde Landscape and Local Pasta Production

There is an equipped picnic area at the sources of the Verde River. The river landscape is accessible to tourists via nature and environmental education trails. Another aspect of the local character is pasta production: In just over 100 years, it developed from artisanal beginnings around the middle of the 19th century into an industrial activity. In Fara San Martino, nature observation, local history, and regional everyday culture thus come together.

Discover More Places

You can find more town pages here: Torrevecchia Teatina, Bucchianico, Castel Frentano, Casalbordino, Mezzano, Francavilla Al Mare, San Martino Sulla Marrucina and Vasto.

For the overarching travel overview: Chieti.