# Abruzzo nature: trabocchi, three parks, a geopark > More than thirty wooden trabocchi line the coast from Ortona to Vasto; inland, three national parks rise to 2,912 m, one of them a UNESCO geopark. URL: https://myitalia.it/nature-and-parks/in-abruzzo Last updated: 2026-09-11 Abruzzo's nature runs from the Adriatic to 2,912 meters: more than thirty trabocchi, wooden fishing machines anchored to the rocks, line the coast between Ortona and Vasto, and three national parks hold the mountains behind it. ## The trabocchi: more than thirty from Ortona to Vasto A trabocco is a wooden fishing machine built out over the rocks: beams anchor it, a plank walkway leads to a platform, and long arms hold up the corners of the net. More than thirty stand on the southern Chieti coast. They run through eight coastal comuni: Ortona, San Vito Chietino, Rocca San Giovanni, Fossacesia, Torino di Sangro, Casalbordino, Vasto and San Salvo. Turchino at San Vito Chietino, Punta Le Morge at Torino di Sangro and Pesce Palombo at Fossacesia are three of the named ones. Gabriele d'Annunzio spent the summer of 1889 at Villa Italia in San Vito Chietino and set part of Trionfo della morte on this coast. ## The Via Verde and the Punta Aderci reserve The Via Verde della Costa dei Trabocchi is a cycle path on the bed of the old Adriatic railway, and Trenitalia includes it among twenty Italian bike routes you can reach by regional train. Ortona is 25 minutes by train from Pescara, and Vasto 15 minutes from Termoli. Its length and how much of it is open in 2026 couldn't be confirmed: neither of the path's own domains resolved, so no kilometer figure is given. At the southern end, the Punta Aderci reserve runs from Punta Penna to the mouth of the Sinello, and its emblem is the Kentish plover. ## Three national parks with their seat in Abruzzo Three of Italy's 24 operating national parks have their seat in Abruzzo on the environment ministry's list: Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga, Majella, and Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise. Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga spreads 150,000 hectares over Abruzzo, Lazio and Marche, and holds Corno Grande, at 2,912 meters the highest peak in the Apennines. Its offices have been at Assergi since 2001. Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise dates from a private initiative in 1922 and a law in 1923, and covers 50,500 hectares. The walking side of all three is covered in [hiking in Abruzzo](/hiking/in-abruzzo). ## Maiella: a UNESCO geopark since April 21, 2021 Since April 21, 2021, the Maiella national park has also been a UNESCO Global Geopark, covering 39 comuni. The recognition rests on geology read together with biodiversity, local traditions and archaeological heritage. Its own site spells the name Maiella. The environment ministry's national park list uses Majella, and you'll meet both on maps and signs. ## The Calderone: what is left of the ice The Calderone sits below the 2,912 meter summit of Corno Grande, in its north-facing bowl, and the park's page describes it as Europe's southernmost glacial body since the Sierra Nevada's ice melted away. That page carries no date, and scientists have since downgraded the Calderone to a glacieret, ice that no longer flows downhill. The careful description is the last ice body of the Apennines, and the area printed on the park's sheet shouldn't be read as a 2026 measurement. ## Where to read more Three pages go deeper: [Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga](/nature/gran-sasso-monti-della-laga), [the Marmolada collapse](/stories/the-marmolada-collapse) on what is happening to Italy's ice, and [national parks](/themes/national-parks) for the whole country. For the region, see [Abruzzo](/regions/abruzzo) and [food in Abruzzo](/food/in-abruzzo). ## FAQ ### What is a trabocco? A trabocco is a wooden fishing machine anchored to the rocks: a walkway leads out to a platform, and long arms hold the corners of a net over the water. More than thirty stand on the Chieti coast between Ortona and Vasto, among them Turchino at San Vito Chietino and Punta Le Morge at Torino di Sangro. ### Can you cycle along the Costa dei Trabocchi? Yes, on the Via Verde, a cycle path laid on the bed of the old Adriatic railway, which Trenitalia lists among twenty bike routes reachable by regional train. Ortona is 25 minutes by train from Pescara. The path's length and 2026 opening status couldn't be verified. ### Is it Maiella or Majella? Both appear on official pages. The geopark's own site spells it Maiella, with an i, while the environment ministry's list of national parks writes Majella. The park joined the UNESCO Global Geoparks network on April 21, 2021 and covers 39 comuni. ### Is there a nature reserve on the trabocchi coast? Yes. The Punta Aderci reserve sits at the southern end of the coast, running from Punta Penna to the mouth of the Sinello, and its emblem is the Kentish plover. The eight coastal comuni of the trabocchi run from Ortona to San Salvo. ## Sources | Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until | |---|---|---|---| | Sulla costa teatina, tra Ortona e Vasto, sono oltre trenta i trabocchi: antiche macchine da pesca in legno ancorate agli scogli, con passerella, piattaforma e antenne che sostengono la rete. | [Regione Abruzzo - Dipartimento Turismo](https://www.abruzzoturismo.it/it/itinerari/la-costa-dei-trabocchi); [doc 2](https://www.abruzzoturismo.it/it/magazine/la-ciclovia-da-ortona-vasto-nel-travel-book-di-trenitalia) | medium | 2027-12-31 | | I 24 parchi nazionali operativi italiani (2026), con la regione della sede/localizzazione principale indicata dal MASE. | [Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica (MASE)](https://www.mase.gov.it/aree-protette/mappa-parchi-nazionali); [doc 2](https://www.mase.gov.it/portale/elenco-dei-parchi) | medium | 2027-12-31 | | Il Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga, istituito dalla legge quadro 394/1991 e perimetrato in via definitiva con DPR del 5 giugno 1995, copre 150.000 ettari su tre regioni (Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche) e cinque province. | [Ente Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga](https://www.gransassolagapark.it/pagina.php?id=131); [doc 2](https://www.gransassolagapark.it/pagina.php?id=41) | medium | 2029-12-31 | | Il Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise nasce nel 1922 per iniziativa privata ed e' istituito per legge nel 1923 con il Regio Decreto-Legge n. 257: si estende su circa 50.500 ettari con un'area contigua di altri 77.500 ettari e comprende 24 comuni di tre regioni. | [Ente Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise](https://www.parcoabruzzo.it/pagina.php?id=546) | medium | 2029-12-31 | | Il 21 aprile 2021 il Parco Nazionale della Maiella e' entrato nella Rete dei Geoparchi Mondiali UNESCO come Maiella Geopark, che oggi comprende 39 comuni. | [Ente Parco Nazionale della Maiella - Maiella Geopark](https://www.maiellageopark.it/) | medium | 2028-12-31 | | Il Calderone, nella conca settentrionale del Corno Grande, e' descritto dalla scheda (non datata) dell'ente parco come il corpo glaciale piu' meridionale d'Europa dopo la scomparsa di quello della Sierra Nevada spagnola, di circa cinque ettari; oggi e' classificato glacionevato, ghiaccio che non scorre piu' verso valle. | [Ente Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga](https://www.gransassolagapark.it/pagina.php?id=41) | medium | 2027-12-31 | ## Image https://media.myitalia.it/media/region.abruzzo.1600.jpg Author: Guido Castelli. 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