This round trip route will take you through the beautiful Majella National Park. The park covers a large area of the Central Apennines mountain range that along with the other Apennines form the backbone of Italy. At the heart of the park is the Majella Massif, a huge chunk of rock that this route circumnavigates. The Majella National park is maybe one of the best preserved Apennines ecosystems, due to its altitude, inaccessibility and prominence, most of the park's territories are uninhabited and so the human made structures, including skiing resorts and roads, are fewer than those in other national parks of Italy.
The landscape soon changes to one that is more rural and then changes again as you enter the foothills of the Majella Massif. At RP 4 you can see a man made cave that has been used as a shrine for the fallen soldiers of WW1, but in particular, a highly decorated naval officer - Lieutenant Andrea Bafile. His marble tomb lies inside with decorated majolica panels on the walls.
RP 5 at the precariously perched hillside town of Pennapiedimonte you can turn off to visit the deep and steeply sided Tre Grotte Valley, the valley was cut into the rock by the river Avella and there are some great views to be had. Beware of the narrow bumpy roads.
A quick coffee stop at the pretty hillside village of Palombaro and then onward along the twisty road with the mountains becoming larger to Fara San Martino. I have added a RP 11 to visit the San Martino Gorge, the walls of the gorge are so close you can easily touch both sides. If you walk through, the path opens into a rocky amphitheater overlooking the ruins of the San Martino Monastery, an ancient hermitage that was deserted some 200 years ago. Skip RP 11 to continue the route to the ski resort town of Pescocostanzo. Pescocostanzo is widely held to be one of the most striking towns in central Italy. Its architectural and artistic gems include centuries-old houses and public buildings and this is where I suggest a lunch stop if needed, there is a good variety of cafes and restaurants to choose from.
The route is on the west of the massif now and heads north across the high plateau before descending via some hairpins towards the pretty village of Cansano, the route politely goes around the village and through a narrow valley and onto the hilltop town of Pacentro. Pacentro is one of several towns in the area with a medieval castle due to its position at the entrance of the strategic San Leonardo mountain pass to Pescara. The route now travels through that pass now and uses no fewer than 12 tight hairpin bends within 1 lateral km. The road and views are stunning and for me, this section is the best. Not just the bends, but the countryside has a more wild feel about it, so much so, you may encounter livestock wandering free. The contours are further apart giving more open views as you approach the spa town of Caramanico Terme. You wont see the town though as this route uses the new underpass tunnel and pops out on the other side.
There is another coffee stop at RP 29, this is at Cafe Abba, named after the hamlet that it's in (Abbateggio) not the Swedish pop group!
From here, it is less than an hour to the start/end point, there are still a few good bends and even hairpins but these are more gentle because of the calmer landscape.

For me, this route has everything - Excellent roads, scenery and attractions which is why I award it with 5***** stars.