There is something unique about the Cathedral of Vasto—a blend of modesty and grandeur that only its history can explain. Founded in 1262 by Count Rolando Palatino, the church was originally dedicated to Santa Margherita. In the 14th century, Charles II of Anjou, King of Naples, granted it to the Augustinian Order, whose monastery stood…
Palazzo Ciccarone, the most significant noble residence in Vasto after Palazzo d’Avalos, stands along Corso Plebiscito with its understated 18th-century architecture. Its symmetrical façade is punctuated by regularly spaced windows and balconies across two floors. The three entrances at street level once led to storage areas used by the landowning nobility to house agricultural goods.…
The Rossetti Theater in Vasto is the second-oldest theater in Abruzzo, following the Marrucino Theater in Chieti. It was inaugurated on May 30, 1819, originally named the Royal Bourbon Theater, and was built on the ruins of the former Church of Santo Spirito, which was part of the disbanded Celestine convent. Designed by engineer Taddeo…
We enter the church through the vestibule, passing the stunning bronze doors created by sculptor Antonio Di Spalatro for the Jubilee Year 2000. From here, we step to the left into the central nave, walking beneath the choir loft, where a magnificent organ—crafted by Ponziano Bevilacqua in the early 20th century—stands. Below the loft, at…
The first historical mention of Jacopo Caldora‘s marquisal palace appears in a document cited by the seventeenth-century chronicler Nicola Alfonso Viti. This document refers to compensation granted by the lord of Vasto to the Augustinian friars in 1427 for the use of part of their garden to build a palace. There is no evidence to…
Hidden among the alleys between Corso Plebiscito and Corso Garibaldi, the Diomede del Moro Tower, also known as the Damante Tower, stands out as the best-preserved of the three surviving towers of the city walls completed by Giacomo Caldora in 1439. To fully appreciate its structure, one must view it from Vico Storto del Passero,…