The mountains became mightier and snow-capped as we drove south. Road signs for Loreto Aprutino were elusive and intermittent, and we got caught up in the tangled mess that is the outskirts of Pescara. But eventually we reached the hilltop and followed a steep cobbled road to where honey-coloured Castello Chiola, our destination for just one night, watched over the town.
Here was quite simply the largest hotel room we have ever stayed in. You could pace about the room for hours and not pass the same piece of furniture twice. I mean, this was one big bedroom. When you occasionally passed a window, the views over the town and the still-snow-capped mountains were splendid. Outside, a small pool on the sun terrace was icy cold, but once the feeling returned to my lips I was able to describe it as 'refreshing'.
We didn't eat at the hotel, thinking the dining room and the menu too grand for what we wanted that evening – a simple, relaxed supper. The town isn't exactly awash with restaurants, but just yards from the hotel we found a door in a wall behind which we enjoyed excellent food at the most modest of prices. A simple antipasto of bruschetta, then pasta and beautifully tender grilled meats were served to us by a gum-chewing waif of a girl. At the end of the evening, the staff of the restaurant were gathered in another part of the room and smiled and nodded graciously as we left.
We returned through the keep to the hotel, and reached our room. Just half an hour's walk across the dense carpet, and we'd made it to the bed.
Castello Chiola, Via degli Aquino, 12 65014 Loreto Aprutino (PE)
Tel 085 8290690
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