The province of Abruzzo is just like Tuscany,' says our heavy-set, gesticulating Italian guide, Nikki. He pauses before delivering the punchline: 'Tuscany - but without the English.'
His Pavarotti-esque laugh echoes around the mountainous peaks so heartily that it jolts the Russian sitting next to me out of a jet lag-induced doze. Evidently confused, the Russian instantly takes on the role of appreciative audience, much to Nikki's delight. Soon we're all laughing.
What Nikki says is true in part. The province, sitting snugly on the lower calf of Italy's cartographic boot, is refreshingly free of British tourists (not to mention Germans, Australians and Americans). While the hot spots of Tuscany and Umbria have become a magnet for Europhiles worldwide, Abruzzo has only recently set its sights on the lucrative tourism market other provinces have enjoyed for centuries.
An easy comparison it may be, but it's as unfair to weigh Abruzzo against Tuscany as it is to pit Beijing's Forbidden City against Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower or Sydney's Harbour Bridge against Melbourne's colonial laneways. True, Abruzzo lacks the Renaissance cities and rustic landscapes of its Tuscan counterpart, but it has its own wonders. To prove the point, the province's government has backed a new venture it hopes will help put the region firmly on the tourist map. For more than a decade, Vespa tours have attracted people to Tuscany. Now, visitors who prefer four wheels can tour the countryside of Abruzzo in a retro Fiat Cinquecento (500).
There is no more fitting a way to motor about. The diminutive, bug-shaped cars, with their pug-nosed bonnets, fold-back canvas soft-tops and headlights that look like they wink and blink, are as important to Italy's automotive history as the Mini is in Britain and the VW Beetle is in Germany.
Upon its release in 1957, the 500 was the design equivalent of today's Alessi bottle opener or Armani suit, but unlike those Italian style staples, the 500 was made for the masses. It was the first small car in post-war Italy - an affordable and practical option for zipping around in bumper-to-bumper city traffic.