Florence to Abruzzo by Train Advice, Please

You have not told us what towns you want to "hit".

Sam, that is more or less my question - if I am traveling by train, what should I hit? Trying to figure out which towns are worth visiting and have train stations is a bit of a nightmare. Even if someone has a suggestion of a train map that isn't utterly vague it would be very helpful.

I plan to hit Orvieto, and I'll train to Siena or take a tour from Florence.

You might want to check out the Terni to Sulmona line:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terni%E2%80%93Sulmona_railway
Brad

Brad, thank you - that is exactly the kind of advice that I am looking for!

I can give you the detailed map of everything. However Abruzzo is famous for its majestic mountains, and trains don’t climb well on steep grades, so a combination of train+car or at least train+bus is somewhat necessary to visit a lot of places in the region, otherwise you’ll be stuck down in the valleys.

If you don’t mind renting a car but prefer not to pick up in a big city like Rome or Florence, the town of Avezzano, along the Rome-Pescara rail line has both Hertz and Avis. The main cities of Pescara and L’Aquila, obviously will have more.

The detailed interactive railway map of Italy is below. Click on the region of interest (Abruzzo in your case) on the map displayed. Once the Abeuzzo map comes up, you can zoom in and see the names of the stations which are displayed with yellow dots.
The red lines are main lines, the blue lines are complementary lines. If dotted line, the railway is not electrified and will utilize diesel trains.
Buon Viaggio.

https://www.rfi.it/it/rete/la-rete-oggi/La_rete_oggi_regione_per_regione.html

Roberto, thank you, that is extremely helpful! It is greatly appreciated.

I am visiting Tagliacozzo with an eye to retiring there in a couple of years, and renting a car in Avezzano was on my mind. I will spend a few days in Abruzzo and may rent a car there but wanted to take trains to get there from Florence. Your map info will help. Thanks again.

Tagliacozzo is on the Rome-Avezzano-Pescara line and it is easy to reach from Roma Termini or Roma Tiburtina.
If you go there from Florence, take a train to Rome then switch trains at Roma Tiburtina or Termini taking a train to either Pescara or Avezzano (some regionali stop in Avezzano and don't go all the way to Pescara). Tagliacozzo is in my mind for retirement too. It is pretty, it has less than 20,000 pop. and is in Abruzzo, therefore it qualifies for the low foreign income tax regime for 9 years (7% flat income tax). And it is less than 2 hours from Rome. It can get chilly in winter, but not too bad.

Train schedule below:
www.trenitalia.com
enter from FIRENZE SMN to TAGLIACOZZO

Roberto, yes, I visited Tagliacozzo last year by train and am aware of the tax advantages of smaller towns from Abruzzo and south. The real issue will be getting a visa; the consulates don't make it easy to get an appointment, and I must have a long-term lease or buy property before my visa is approved (looking at the elective residency visa). I'll do my best to figure it out.

I'm less concerned about the cold of winter than the heat of summer!

I think you must secure a lease or ownership title before you can apply for elective residency. It will be part of the documentation you must submit along with income sources and proof of medical insurance. I don’t need it as I’m a citizen, but the website of the Italian consulate with jurisdiction over your State of residence.

Tagliacozzo is 740 mt above sea level (2500ft) and is surrounded by mountains and forests, so the heat in summer will not be unbearable. Even on hot days, nights will be cool enough. But 700m above sea level seems to be the snow line in the Apennines so it does get some snow in winter.

You can use weatherspark.com compare to compare climate data with other places.