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 Introduction
In Piazza Italia, on the left bank of the river, is the imposing Palazzo del Governo. On the other side of the river, stands the Tempio della Conciliazione, built 1935-38 to commemorate the Lateran treaties. On the Corso Manthone is the house where the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863-1938) was born who was a major sponsor for the creation of the new city; inside (open to visitors) there are many relics. In the Museo Ittico (Via Paolucci), close to the Porto Canale, can be seen the skeleton of a sperm whale.
With around 150,000 inhabitants, Pescara is the largest Abruzzese city: dynamic, active, wealthy, it is one of the main commercial and tourist centers along the Adriatic coast.
Arrival By Plane
Pescara has an airport (Aeroporto di Pescara, also known as Abruzzo International Airport). The airport is 3km out of town and easily reached by bus No 38 (20 minutes, every 15 minutes) from Corso Vittorio Emanuele II in front of the train station. Ryanair operates a daily flight to/from London Stansted.
By Train
Pescara Centrale train station is the largest in Abruzzo, and one of the largest in the whole of Europe. There are three train stations (Pescara Centrale, Pescara Porta Nuova, and Pescara San Marco) in Pescara.
By Bus
There is a direct bus line to Roma Tiburtina (Rome) via Pescara Centrale (about a two and a half hour ride). Buses also run to Naples 4 and half hours, four daily.
By Car
Heading along the coast, you can choose between the A14 or the SS16, the SS16 hugs the coast more closely, both the A25 and SS5 lead towards Rome, L'Aquila and sulmona.
History and Culture
The name Piscaria appeared in 12th century documents, and probably referred to a small center built after the period of invasions on the place of the ancient Roman Aternum, situated at the estuary of the Aterno-Pescara River.
Aternum was first a port of the Marrucini and Peligni people and under Roman times became the main port of the region. It was however sacked and destroyed by the Lombards in the 6th century AD. In the Middle Ages two towns rose on the opposite banks of the Pescara River: Pescara to the south, belonging to the province of Chieti, and Castellammare Adriatico in the north, included in the province of Teramo. The unified new town in 1927 became the capital of the newly formed province of Pescara, and a renowned seaside resort in the 1930's. Because of its important strategic position as a railway center and harbor, Pescara was subject to heavy Allied bombings that almost razed it to the ground killing thousands and thousands of people.
In the middle Ages it was destroyed by the Lombards (597). On that occasion the city's bishop, Cetteus (Pescara's current patron saint), was charged with fraternizing with the Greek Christians (the Lombards being Arians) and thrown from the marble bridge with a stone tied to his neck.
Pescara was always part of the Kingdom of Naples, apart from the brief age of the Republic of Naples of 1798-1799. The city was therefore attacked by the pro-Bourbon Giuseppe Pronio. In 1800 Pescara fell to French troops, becoming an important military stronghold of Joseph Bonaparte's reign. Castellammare, which now had 3,000 inhabitants of its own, became a separate municipality.
In 1814, Pescara's Carboneria revolted against Joachim Murat. There, on May 15, 1815, the king undersigned one of the first constitutions of the Italian Risorgimento. In the following years Pescara became a symbol of the Bourbon's violent restoration as it housed one of the most notorious Bourbon jails. After a devastating flood in 1853, Pescara was liberated by Giuseppe Garibaldi's collaborator Clemente De Cesaris in 1860. Seven years later the fortress was dismantled.
Pescara has been set to host the XVI Mediterranean Games in 2009, having defeated Rijeka, Croatia and Patras, Greece for the privilege.
Churches and Museums
Cathedral of San Cetteo, patron saint of the city, with a magnificent 17th century painting by Guercino representing St. Francis of Assisi and the marble mausoleum of Gabriele D'Annunzio's mother.
Madonna dei Sette Dolori
The Madonna dei Sette Dolori (“Madonna of Seven Pains”) is from 1757 and has a Neoclassical facade.
Museo delle Genti d'Abruzzo
The Museo delle Genti d'Abruzzo is the most impressive region among many regions, collecting in the many rooms all sides of the life, traditions, economy of the Abruzzo peoples from prehistory to the 19th century.
Museo D'Arte Moderna
Nearby, facing the Adriatic, Pescara's newest museum is the Museo D'Arte Moderna, featuring works by contemporary Italian and international artists.
Historical buildings and monuments
Among the works of sculptor Pietro Cascella (born in Pescara in 1921), “La Nave” is one of the symbols of the city, along the seafront facing central Piazza Salotto.
Gabriele D'Annunzio's House
The ancient center, built within the Spanish walls, holds Gabriele D'Annunzio's House, where the famous Italian poet was born.
Palazzo del Governo
The Palazzo del Governo, preserving fine statues of Giudo Costanzo from Ortona and the huge painting “La Figlia di Iorio” is the most celebrated work of painter Francesco Paolo Michetti from Tocco.
Places of Interests
Pescara itself has a vast expanse of lovely unspoilt greenery. Set just in from the sea on the east bank, where the smell of pine and sea mix to heady effect, La Pineta d'Avalos park, with its open-air theatre, is the ideal green retreat.
Pineto Beach
Pineto has been awarded “Bandiera Blu” (or Blue Flag) status various times over the years (and in 2006 most recently), and this is a testimony to the overall high standard of the resort and its waters. The beach is wide, well maintained, with fine golden sand, and it runs for miles! The sea gives families with young children total peace of mind, with very shallow water in the first 20 meters, also forming big puddles for children to enjoy in total freedom and safety. With hardly any currents, it is an ideal place for long swims, no matter what your ability or fitness level.
Sulmona town
L'Aquila province, Abruzzi region, situated in the valley of the upper Pescara River, surrounded by mountains, southwest of Pescara. Originating as Sulmo, a town of the Paeligni (an ancient Italic people), it was later a Roman possession and was the birthplace of the 1st-century Roman poet Ovid. The capital of the independent province of Abruzzi under Sulmona.
Events
- Late May - Early July: Festivity of the Madonna dei Sette Dolori.
- July (First & Second week): International Jazz Festival.
- July: The “Ennio Flaiano” prize (for the sections theater, cinema, television, literature).
- Last Sunday in July: Feast in honor of Sant'Andrea the Apostle, with a famous parade of fishing motorboats off the coast.
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Double room - 65€より
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