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 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…