Villages in Abruzzo pay you to live there
The The Regional Council has published a list of 173 municipalities that will pay up to €15,000 over a maximum of three years to people willing to relocate there. The financial incentive is offered in attempt to tackle population decline in mountain municipalities.
All villages are above 600m above sea level, with a population of less than 3,000 inhabitants. Most of them have experienced a population decline above the regional average in the past 5 years. Read more about the project and qualifying requirements in this article.
Juan Carrito is back
The naughty young Marsican bear Juan Carrito has woken up early from winter hibernation. He has been spotted roaming the ski slopes of Roccaraso and wandering around the town (see the video here). Park rangers promptly intervened (see the video here) turning loud sirens on trying to keep him away from the populated areas.
Juan Carrito is a so-called “confident” bear, who is not afraid of people and prefers living near towns where he finds easy food in chicken coops, rubbish bins and an occasional treat of fresh biscuits in bakeries (read our article about his fresh biscuits feast).
The rangers of the Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo transferred the two-year-old bear to an isolated area, away from people, in attempt to change his habits. He is equipped with a radio collar which allows to monitor his movements. Locals are very fond of Juan Carrito and the whole region enjoys following the news about his escapades.
Mimosa blooms too early
Mimosas have already bloomed in Abruzzo, one month too early due to unusually high temperatures for February. The regional branch of Coldiretti, Italy’s main farmers’ organisation, sounded the alarm in the local media saying that mimosa is usually in bloom in early March and is gifted on the National Women’s Day. “The climate defies the tradition according to which the first days of February are the coldest of the whole year,” – says Coldiretti.
Temperatures higher than the seasonal average have affected not only mimosas. Almond, peach and apricot trees are also already in bloom in Abruzzo.
“Such an early flowering puts at risk the production of summer fruit and is an unequivocal signal of the climatic emergency,” warns Coldiretti. “The trend is a worrying sign of the climate change that will have serious consequences on agriculture. It represents a challenge for farmers.”
NFTs for sushi in Abruzzo
This week regional media were excited about the Abruzzo-based sushi bar Oishi Japanese Kitchen as it became the first restaurant in Italy to use NFTs in the food service industry.
Two Oishi restaurants, one in Teramo and the other in Pescara, will give the opportunity to acquire a utility NFT, a virtual token that represents the deed and the certificate of authenticity, registered on blockchain, of a work of art created in collaboration with the digital artist Pierpaolo Barnabei from Abruzzo, aka FRUTTI. The purchase will offer the opportunity to access a series of exclusive activities, such as a dedicated tasting menu, access to off-menu dishes, reserved discounts and the possibility to pay in cryptocurrencies. The restaurant’s NFTs can be purchase on a dedicated page.
Agricultural Fair in Teramo
Optimism is in the air as life is returning to normal and annual events are coming back across the region. The 31st edition of the Teramo Agricultural Fair has been announced for April 22-25. The big event will showcase the best of Abruzzo’s farms and food artisans. During the four days visitors can see cooking shows, concerts, taste traditional dishes and meet local producers selling cheeses, cured meats, honey and much more. The details of the programme will be announced soon on the fair’s Facebook page.
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