Atri

Atri is a hilltop town of roughly 10,000 people in the province of Teramo, Abruzzo, overlooking olive groves and wheat fields that stretch toward the Adriatic coast. It has ancient origins going back to the Osci-Sabelli-Sabini peoples, who joined the Italic League with the Piceni against Rome and lost, becoming a Roman colony in 289 BC. In 1393 the territory passed to the Acquaviva family, who made Atri the capital of their duchy. The town is also historically known for licorice (liquirizia di Atri) — documented in the area since at least 1433 and still central to the local economy, marketed as "the black gold of Abruzzo." Atri is further distinguished by its calanchi: dramatic clay badlands formed by erosion, protected since 1995 within a roughly 400-hectare nature reserve that is also a WWF oasis.

Atri sits on a hilltop away from the coastal rail line; the nearest station is Pineto-Atri, on the Adriatic line, with trains running roughly hourly from Teramo. From the station, onward travel into the hilltop town itself is by local bus or taxi.

The historic center is compact and best explored on foot, with steep hilltop streets typical of the region.

• Atri Cathedral (Cattedrale di Atri): built from the late 13th into the early 14th century, partly over an ancient Roman cistern converted into a crypt; its three-naved, pointed-arch interior holds a fresco cycle by Andrea De Litio, considered a masterpiece of the Abruzzese Renaissance.
• Calanchi di Atri Nature Reserve: the town's signature badlands landscape, protected since 1995 and managed as a WWF oasis.
• Palazzo Ducale degli Acquaviva: the former ducal palace of the Acquaviva family, who ruled Atri from the 14th century.
• Church of San Francesco: one of the town's other notable historic churches.

Walk the historic center and cathedral, and visit the calanchi nature reserve for views of the badlands landscape.

Liquirizia di Atri (licorice), produced locally in various forms, is the town's best-known product.

Pineto (coastal town on the rail line below Atri) · other towns of the Teramo province and Abruzzo's Adriatic coast.