The history of the Church of the Carmine has always been closely tied to the presence of a lay confraternity. In its earliest form, when the church was originally dedicated to San Nicola, the confraternity represented the Schiavoni community in Vasto—Slavs of Croatian origin who had settled in the city in the 14th century, fleeing…
The Confraternity of Pio Monte dei Morti was originally founded at the Church of Sant’Agostino (now the Cathedral of San Giuseppe) before moving to the Collegiata di San Pietro. In 1652, the confraternity built its own chapel, which was later adorned in the 18th century with a remarkable wooden Pietà by Neapolitan sculptor Giacomo Colombo.…
The oldest of the confraternities still active in Vasto is the Confraternity of the Gonfalone, based at the Collegiata di Santa Maria Maggiore. Originally dedicated to Santa Maria della Purità, it was founded at the end of the 15th century and became a part of the Archconfraternity of the Disciplinati of Rome. In the first…
An ancient brotherhood originally active at the church of San Pietro, the Confraternity of the Sacro Pio Monte dei Morti now gathers at the Church of Santa Filomena, the private chapel of the Palazzo Genova Rulli, recently restored and reopened for worship. The Confraternity of the Sacro Pio Monte dei Morti plays a key role…
The Confraternity of Santissimo Sacramento, the second oldest in Vasto after the Confraternity of the Gonfalone—which later merged into the Confraternity of the Sacred Thorn—was founded in 1542 by Prelate Giovanni Berardino de Amicis. It was historically based in the collegiate church of San Pietro, where it remained active until the church was demolished following…
The relic of the Sacred Wood of the Cross of Jesus Christ, originally kept in the Church of San Pietro, was housed in the Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, where a beautiful painting by the Vasto-born artist Nicola Tiberi was also displayed. In 1690, Cardinal Altieri, the protector of the Church of San Pietro,…
According to ancient Jewish tradition, seven angels stand perpetually before the throne of God, ready to carry out His interventions in human history. They are called “angels of the presence” or “angels of the face.” Subsequently, with the affirmation of the existence of other orders of angels around God, such as seraphim and cherubim, these…
Although official records state that the first church dedicated to San Michele was built in 1675, the presence of the saint in Vasto dates back more than two thousand years, even before the Christian era. Back then, he was not yet called Michael, nor was he a saint, but rather Mithras, a pagan deity imported…
The veneration of San Michele, patron saint of Vasto, has deep historical roots, dating back to the Lombard rule, when a place of worship dedicated to Sant’Arcangelo stood near the present-day church—possibly of even older, Byzantine origin. The cult of the commander of the angelic hosts never truly faded; otherwise, the people of Vasto would…
At the top of the street that shares its name, where just a couple of centuries ago open countryside stretched just beyond Vasto’s gates, stands the Palazzo di Sant’Anna. It takes its name from the church dedicated to the Virgin Mary’s mother, which occupies its ground floor. The church entrance is marked by a portico…