Dangle a paper cutout of Italy in the air, then slice it in half with a machete (horizontally; slightly angled). The cut will likely run along a line connecting Rome to Pescara. An excellent east-west highway connecting these cities (in two hours) passes wildly beautiful landscapes between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas. Most of this journey moves through the region of Abruzzo.

Half of Abruzzo (which itself is about half the size of the U.S. state of New Jersey) is protected as reserves and parks. This makes the drive to Pescara (the region’s largest city, with 125,000 residents) compelling. The vistas look commanding and stark during winter, and verdant and bucolic during spring and summer. Hilltop fortresses, yawning valleys and medieval villages resemble stretches between Beziers in France and Barcelona in Spain—though Abruzzo is far more wooded.