Gran Sasso, Abruzzo

£3,000.00

The Gran Sasso National Park is a unique place of rare beauty. We stopped at a small wooden rifugio for refreshments in the plain of Campo Imperatore also known as the Little Tibet of Abruzzo.

Every spring an event of extraordinary beauty is repeated, affecting the entire vast Apennine meadow, it’s the flowering of Crocus. At the onset of spring, between March and April, when the warm sun melts the winter snows and the moist soil gives strength to the tiny seeds, the plateau turns into a sea of purple, the characteristic colour of Crocus flowers. I seized the unexpected opportunity to capture the scene in my leather-bound sketchbook where I had previously painted scenes in Tuscany and Umbria.

I used this, along with some photographs to paint this large watercolour. When I look at this painting, all the memories come flooding back. As I’m writing this story I’m feeling compelled to book another trip to L’Aquila!

Gran Sasso Abruzzo
Gran Sasso - Detail
Gran Sasso - Sketchbook
Gran Sasso Abruzzo

1 in stock

Dimensions 60 × 58 cm
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L’Aquila

Twenty years ago we ran our first painting holiday in Italy at Casa San Gabriel. At the end of the holiday in Umbria we took some our guests to Rome airport and drove to the region Abruzzo. It takes about two hours by car from Rome, driving along the A24. We checked in to Hotel Sole in the centre of L’Aquila. I had a painting commission to paint a scene in the Gran Sasso National Park so the next day we made our way to the Campo Imperatore plateau, exiting at Assergi.

As we drove along the road that leads to the Rifugio di Lago Racollo there was a wall of snow on each side of the road. The temperature outside began to drop the higher we went. We stopped at a Rifugio and marvelled at the sea of purple crocuses that were popping up through the snow, surrounded by mountains.

Campo Imperatore

The blooming of the Crocus of Campo Imperatore is an amazing spectacle of nature. The plateau stretches for more than 20 kilometers and is almost completely devoid of vegetation. During springtime it is filled with crocuses that are lost to view, creating a unique and fascinating purple expanse.

The Gran Sasso National Park is truly a unique place of rare beauty, traversed by numerous mammal species such as Apennine chamois, deer, wolves and roe deer, making it the perfect place to spend a relaxing spring weekend.

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