Abruzzo is one of Italy's little-known treasures: a tranquil mingling of mountains and coastline, it is sparsely populated and rarely visited by tourists. Home to one of Italy's highest peaks (the Gran Sasso, at an altitude of over 9,500 feet) and a busy port (Pescara, the most populous city in the region), it boasts a rich repertoire of robust mountain dishes and an abundance of seafood specialties. The regional capital is L'Aquila, a charming city with a view of the Gran Sasso that was founded by Frederick II of Swabia in 1254; today, L'Aquila is home to 70,000 people. Near L'Aquila is the Parco Nazionale dell'Abruzzo, an enormous natural reserve (about 200 square miles) where hundreds of rare animal species roam free. Other important Abruzzese cities are Teramo (whose first-century A.D. Roman theater is still used to host shows), Chieti (an ancient Roman settlement), and, from a culinary standpoint, the village of Villa Santa Maria (where some of Italy's finest chefs honed the art of Italian cuisine).