Pescasseroli Events

The deer rut

Through late September and into October the red deer rut fills the valley with roaring at dawn and dusk, audible from the edge of the village. The park runs guided listening walks. It is the single most striking thing that happens here all year and it is not a festival.

Summer in the park

Through July and August the park authority and the guiding companies run a continuous programme of guided walks, night outings, and talks at the visitor centre, much of it aimed at Italian families staying for the month.

Ferragosto

Mid-August is the peak of the village year, with the population at its highest and everything open; it is also the worst time to look for wildlife and the hardest time to find a room.

Sant'Antonio

In January the feast of Sant'Antonio Abate is marked in the old centre with bonfires, as it is throughout the mountain villages of Abruzzo.

The patronal feast

Santi Pietro e Paolo, at the end of June, is the village's own day, and one of the few occasions that belongs to residents rather than to the season.

Autumn in the valley

October and November bring mushroom season, which is regulated and needs a permit, and a run of small food festivals in the villages down the lake — Villetta Barrea, Barrea, Civitella Alfedena — that are for residents rather than for visitors.

Winter

The small ski area and the cross-country trails on the valley floor open with the snow, usually from late December; the Christmas and February holidays are the two winter peaks, and between them the valley is as quiet as it ever gets.