What is Scontrone known for?

Twenty-four murals on emigration themes painted on the village façades since 1988, restored in 2017. Late Miocene five-horned deer found in the local fossil bed, endemic to a Mediterranean archipelago around 10 million years old. Borgo above the Sangro gorge between Castel di Sangro and Lake Barrea, on the edge of Italy's oldest national park.

Scontrone is a comune in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo region of Italy, about 126 kilometers from Pescara.

Abruzzo · L'Aquila

Scontrone

A 1,038-meter borgo above the Sangro gorge in the Alto Sangro, with two dozen emigration-themed murals and a paleontological site of European importance.

1038m

Elevation

126 km / 78 mi

Nearest hub (Pescara)

533

Population

Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Scontrone perches at 1,038 meters at the southern end of the Alto Sangro, on the lip of the gorge the Sangro river cuts between Lake Barrea and the Castel di Sangro plain. The borgo has 533 residents. Two things make it stand out. Since 1988 it has been the Borgo dei Murales: twenty-four murals by Italian and international artists, mostly on the theme of emigration, painted on the stone façades of the historic center and restored in 2017. Second, in 1991 a paleontological site of international importance was discovered just outside the village. The Miocene fauna found at Scontrone, around 10 million years old, includes the strongly endemic Hoplitomeryx, a small five-horned deer that lived on a Mediterranean archipelago. The fossils sit at the Centro di Documentazione Paleontologica named for it. The village also houses the Museo della Montagna and an International Museum of Women in Art. The Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise begins on the other side of the Sangro.

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Gallery

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Known for

Borgo dei Murales
Twenty-four murals on the façades of the historic center, mostly on emigration themes, painted since 1988 and restored in 2017.
Sito paleontologico di Scontrone
Late Miocene fossil deposit discovered 1991, with Hoplitomeryx, primitive deer, crocodiles, and turtles around 10 million years old.
Centro di Documentazione Paleontologica Hoplitomeryx
Museum displaying the fossil fauna of the Scontrone site, named for the small five-horned deer that lived on a Miocene archipelago.
Museo della Montagna
Mountain museum gathering works inspired by Apennine peaks and traditions, with a photographic section on the Alto Sangro.
Belvedere della Forra
Panoramic point above the Sangro gorge, view down the canyon walls and across to Barrea and the Marsicano peaks.
Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise
Italy's oldest national park, founded 1923, begins on the opposite bank of the Sangro from the village.

When to visit

Best months · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

June through September is the main season for Scontrone, when trails into the Parco d'Abruzzo are open and the murals show well in the long mountain light. December through March brings snow, with the Roccaraso lifts and the Alto Sangro ski circuit eight kilometers away. April, May, October, and November are the quiet months when most restaurants in the borgo close. The Sagra della Sagne e Fagioli, the local pasta and bean festival, is held in mid-August. The paleontological center keeps reduced hours in winter and is best visited in summer when guided tours run to the fossil bed outside the village.