Ristoro del Venacquaro

Still trying to stimulate life among the high peaks of our beloved mountains, this time we want to tell you about a Hotel Restaurant that has little of the tourist facility about it and much more of the Rifugio. We're talking about the Ristoro del Venacquaro, run by the very friendly Signora Lena D'Amico.

Still trying to stimulate life among the high peaks of our beloved mountains, this time we want to tell you about a Hotel Restaurant that has little of the tourist facility about it and much more of the mountain hut. A “refuge” for its warm welcome and the genuineness of its service. We're talking about the Ristoro del Venacquaro, run by the very friendly Signora Lena D'Amico.

The Ristoro is already known to Roman mountaineers and hikers for having hosted them many times. A convenient, easy-to-reach point of reference, the ristoro is in the upper part of the little hamlet of Intermesoli at the foot of the Pizzo d'Intermesoli, just one kilometre from Pietracamela.

On request Signora Lena also provides a large, recently renovated flat with plenty of beds. We counted as many as 9 in a single flat. The place is spotless and Signora Lena supplies towels and linen. If you like, you can sleep in your own sleeping bag, negotiating the price, which stays very modest anyway.
By keeping in touch with Signora Lena you can have a hot dish prepared for the end of the day and find the right rest after a long hike on the mountain paths.

The restaurant has seats indoors, of course, but also outdoors: in summer you can eat in the open air, enjoying the scents of the woods.

The food is superb, and the produce and ingredients are certainly excellent and cooked even better. The restaurant prices too are thoroughly affordable for hikers and mountaineers who, as a rule and by their very nature, are always “broke”...

With the idea of an economically sustainable holiday, one that brings work to the hills of the Teramo area and to the mountains of central Italy, what we can suggest is to plan a hike, a holiday or simply a short trip that includes a short stay at the Ristoro del Venacquaro.

The ristoro is a good base for exploring the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park.

For trips suitable for little ones, see our hikes for children in the Apennines.