The setting of ENIT [2] located a in the heart of Rockefeller Center was filled with a different breeze of air on Thursday, May 30th. The hectic atmosphere of the city was substituted for a moment with a calmness and tranquility of breath-taking panoramas: a journey, even though only through imagination, to Abruzzo [2], a wonderful land where the sea, the skies and the mountains have no boundaries.

ENIT, the National Tourism Agency, hosted at its headquarters the presentation titled: "Abruzzo: Made ​​in Nature, Made ​​in Italy," in order to promote the less known Italian region and its treasures in the United States. 

Director of ENIT, Eugenio Magnani, introduced and led the presentation which included the participation of Mauro Di Dalmazio [3], Minister for the Development of Tourism in the Abruzzo region, Aurelio Cilli [4], Minister of Tourism of the Province of Pescara and Lucio Fumo [5], Founder and Artistic Director of "Pescara Jazz [6]."

It wasn’t at all difficult for the audience, almost in entirety composed of people who admitted to never having visited Abruzzo, to immediately grasp the particularities of this stunning land, from the words of the Regional Minister Di Dalmazio and

Provincial Minister Cilli. Due to a perfect synthesis between art, nature, tradition, wine and food, Abruzzo is defined as the region of the "feel good", where solidarity, generosity and hospitality of its people make an already fantastic holiday, a unique and unforgettable experience.

Considered the green region of Europe or the Region of Parks, with 33% of its territory placed under environmental protection, this "green lung" of Italy is home to many National Parks such as: Abruzzo [7], Majella [8], Gran Sasso-Monti della Laga [9], as well as Regional Park: Velino-Sirente [10], and a Protected Marine Area: Torre del Cerrano [11], and 38 other regional oasis’ and reservoirs.

The featured video, prepared especially for this promotional campaign, allowed each individual participant, to associate words with images and sounds: from the Apennines to the Adriatic Sea, the film presented sport routes, and cultural and culinary adventures, justifying the definition of Abruzzo as a "way of life, " – said Di Dalmazio.

"Mountains reaching the sea," is the true definition of Abruzzo mountains, considering the characteristic morphology of the territory, the towering mountains that slope continuously all the way to the seacoast. Here, too, the numbers are the evidence of the quid pluris of this region, with 130 kilometers of pristine coastline, which earned it 13 blue flags (an international recognition of European costal locations, which meet quality criteria relating to refinements for bathing and services offered).

There is a lot more. In Abbruzzo nature is combined with innovation and technology thanks to two very ambitious projects led by the two Ministers. One being the creation of the first European track connecting 130 miles of coastline with an uninterrupted pedestrian path and the installation of a free WI-FI network, and the other undertaking the restructure of 350 paths and trails within the majestic parks in Abruzzo.

The Abruzzo is also art and culture, and a land, which gave birth to some of the greatest Italian poets and writers, from Ovid to Benedetto Croce, Ignazio Silone and Gabriele D'Annunzio. There, Romanesque abbeys, monasteries and medieval villages arise, immersed in magical scenery difficult to describe in words. Again, statistics lend a hand in proving what distinguishes the region: Abruzzo is home to 100 of the most beautiful villages in Italy, of which 18 are ranked among the top 100 in the world.

How can one not dream of visiting n this area and tasting the first fruits, the regional food and wine, accompanied by delicate Jazz music in the background. For this, after all, is the region, which for the past 40 summers is the stage for the important "Pescara Jazz" music festival. Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan and Miles Davis are just some of the celebrities who graced the stage of Pescara, explains Lucio Fumo, the mind and soul behind the event. Present in the room are also Sandro Damiani and Giancarlo Alfani, President and Marketing Manager of the "Pescara Jazz Festival".

Everyone present at the presentation was transported to this wonderful region: big-hearted, generous and proud of its impressive history. It 's true ... Abruzzo is a strong and at the same time a gentle land.