The Heart of Abruzzo (Part 2)
13 May 2020
On our first trip to the Lago di Scanno we saw, without knowing it, some other beautiful places like the Lago di San Domenico and the Gole del Sagittario… ohhh the Gole del Sagittario… that view was impressive!!
We didn’t have the time to admire the lake in its particular shape and personally, I was quite curious about it. So, a year later, in September 2018, even before we got the airplane tickets, I told my wife: “We have to absolutely see the heart shape of the lake from the top of the mountain!”
AND ... HERE IT GOES, THE HEART OF ABRUZZO PART 2
We took the same route as the last time from Giuliano Teatino. We did pass again through the Foce Giardino tunnel, we saw again the amazing panoramic view of the Gole del Sagittario and we did stop by again in the Lago di San Domenico. I could do that every single day without getting bored!
This time I was with my mom and wife. We left the car in the same spot, right next to the beginning of the Sentiero del Cuore (The Heart Path). A few metres further, there is a public toilet available, in case you need it.
My mom hadn’t been to the lake before, so we walked around the shores and visited the Chiesa della Madonna del Lago. After that, we started our trip through the Sentiero del Cuore.
OUR ITENERARY
First of all, make sure you have comfortable clothes and shoes, water and your camera, you will want to immortalize this trip!
From our starting point, it took approximately one hour to get to the Osservatorio del Cuore, the point at which is possible to see the “heart”. The walk is suitable for anyone. My wife and I already had an idea about how the lake could look from the very top, on the other hand, my mom didn’t have a single clue!
We had three checkpoints. The first checkpoint was the beginning of the sentiero. We started walking through it. At some points, you can also see the lake and at others, all you can see is the greenery of the area. The path is quite easy to follow.
Our second stop was the Eremo of Sant’Egidio (the Hermitage of Sant’Egidio). The Eremo are these places where many years ago people lived to meditate and pray. They are an important part of Abruzzo’s identity (don’t worry, posts about the hermitages are on its way too!) This one, in particular, is really small and no less loved by gli Scannesi (people from Scanno). On the front door, there is prayer dating from the year 1657 where people ask Sant’Egidio for protection against the plague. So, during these times and if you are religious, surely you will find in Sant’Egidio a comforting spot.
The view around the eremo is actually nice and there is also a fountain from which you can drink all the water you want.
After the Eremo we got to our third and final checkpoint, the Osservatorio del Cuore. The view from that point was absolutely stunning. I never imagined seeing something like that. We sat, rested and for a moment we were just there, admiring the hearted lake. Some say that the lake doesn’t have this heart shape, it’s the view angle from the top that makes the lake look like a heart. To be honest, angle views or not, this hearted lake is one of the most stunning things I have ever seen.
Our first checkpoint. The begenning of the "Sentiero del Cuore"
The “Osservatorio del Cuore”. This is the point from which it’s possible to admire the hearted lake.
You probably already knew that the Lago di Scanno has this particular shape either from the title of this post or because you simply knew it and probably you are just like: “ ohh that’s a nice lake” or “ohh how beautiful”, but when we actually saw it, we thought: “OHH MY GOSH!! It really looks like a heart!!” That view is a gift from nature. Seeing the heart surrounded by the hills is an experience we would repeat infinite times!
LEGENDS ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE LAKE
It’s undienable that a sort of magic and mystery is in the air. In fact there are a few legends about the origin of the hearted lake. Some say it was created during a fight between the Romans and a local King named Battifolo. The king, looking at his army in difficulty invoked the help of a sorcerer, Bailardo, who by a spell covered the Romans with water, creating in this way the lake. Another legend says that the same sorcerer, Bailardo, fell in love with a fairy, known as Madama Angiolina. The sorcerer ordered to kidnap her and as way of escape, the fairy Angiolina created the lake under her feet drowning the kidnappers.
We didn’t want to come back, but we had to. So, we just followed the same path all over to our start point.
Abruzzo has a high variety of places you can visit, but this one in particular… you don’t want to miss it!
