Capestrano ( Abruzzese: ') is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' and small town with 885 inhabitants (2017), in the

Province of L'Aquila The province of L'Aquila () is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated Provinces of Italy, province of the Abruzzo region of Italy. It comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part of the region. It ...

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is located in the

Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park is a natural park in central Italy. Established in 1991, it covers an area of , mostly within the provinces of Teramo, L'Aquila, and Pescara in Abruzzo, with small areas in the provinces of Rieti ...

History

Antiquity

In the necropolis the statue of the " Warrior of Capestrano" (6th century BC) was found during the work in a field by a farmer. The tall statue depicts an early Italic warrior in full gear, the king of the

Vestini Vestini () were an Italic peoples, Italic tribe who occupied the area of the modern Abruzzo (central Italy), included between the Gran Sasso and the northern bank of the Aterno-Pescara, Aterno river. Their main centres were ''Pitinum ''(near mo ...

tribe, Naevius Pompuledius, executed by the sculptor Aninis. Now the statue is on display in the National Archaeological Museum of the Abruzzi in

Chieti Chieti (, ; , , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Southern Italy, east of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti, in the Abruzzo, Abruzzo region. In Italian, the adjectival form is ''teatino'' and inhabitants of Chieti ar ...

Geography

Capestrano borders with the municipalities of Brittoli, Bussi sul Tirino, Carapelle Calvisio, Castelvecchio Calvisio, Collepietro, Corvara, Navelli,

Ofena Ofena ( Abruzzese: ') is a ''comune'' and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is located in the natural park known as the "Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park". The comune/village is home to a vast and rich h ...

Pescosansonesco Pescosansonesco ( Abruzzese: '; Pescolano: ') is a ''comune'' and town in the province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is above sea level in the natural park known as the "Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park". Famous for its ...

and Villa Santa Lucia degli Abruzzi. It includes four civil parishes (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

''): , Forca di Penne, Santa Pelagia and Scarafano.

Main sights

San Pietro ad Oratorium Abbey

This former

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Abbey was founded on the bank of Tirino river, from Capestrano. Chronicles suggest that some church structure might have been present by the 7th century, but the original abbey was commissioned in AD 752 by the Lombard king

Desiderius Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. De ...

, and made subservient to the monastery of

San Vincenzo al Volturno San Vincenzo al Volturno is a historic Benedictine monastery located in the territories of the Comunes of Castel San Vincenzo and Rocchetta a Volturno, in the Province of Isernia, near the source of the river Volturno in Italy. The current monast ...

. In 1117, the church was consecrated by Pope Pasqual II. The present church building was initially erected in the 12th century; of the monastery buildings little remains but ruins.

Piccolomini or Mediceo Castle

The castle was built in the 13th century, on the hill next to the Tirino river and the Abbey of St. Peter ad Oratorium in a strategic position at 505 m above sea level. It was a feud of Tolomeo di Raiano in 1240, and was granted to the Acquaviva family in 1284 by Charles I of Angio (King

Charles I of Sicily Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 and ...

). Riccardo d'Acquaviva was thus named marquis of Capestrano. In 1462 the Castle passed on to Marquis Antonio I Todeschini Piccolomini d'Aragona (d. 1493), nephew of

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II (, ), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. Aeneas Silvius was an author, diplomat, ...

, who enlarged the castle with new towers with battlements. In 1579 Marquess Costanza Piccolomini, daughter of Innico Piccolomini, sold the castle to

Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Francesco I (25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587) was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He was a member of the House of Medici. Biography Born in Florence, Francesco was the son of Cosimo I de' Med ...

. In 1743 the Castle passed on to

Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

in his capacity as Charles III Bourbon, King of Naples and the two Sicilies. In 1860 the Castle passed on to the Savoyard King of Italy.

Lake of Capodacqua

In the ''frazione'' of Capodacqua is located the lake of the same name, locally famous for the presence of the ruins of submerged

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

s.Article on fondali.it

Notable people

* Saint Giovanni da Capistrano (John of Capistrano), an Italian friar, theologian and inquisitor was born here in 1386. * The Italian-born American composer Dalmazio Santini (1923–2001) was born in Capestrano. * Eugene Victor Alessandroni was born in Capestrano in 1887. He emigrated with his family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1890. He was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. In 1927 he became the first Italian-American judge in Pennsylvania when he was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas, 1st district of Pennsylvania. He was elected judge Court of Common Pleas, 1st District of Pennsylvania, for term, 1928-1938, re-elected for terms, 1938-1958.

Twin Cities

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

(Part of

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

) * San Juan Capistrano (

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

)

Photo gallery

Image:Capestrano convent 2007 007.jpg, Saint Giovanni da Capistrano convent Image:Capestrano 2007 002.jpg, Capestrano - view of the village Image:Capestrano 2007 004.jpg, Capestrano, view of the village from west Image:Image Capestrano 2007 005.jpg, Capestrano, view of the village Image:Enigmatic inscription of St Peter ad Oratorium 400.jpg, Enigmatic inscription of St Peter ad Oratorium, the

Sator Square The Sator Square (or Rotas-Sator Square or Templar Magic Square) is a two-dimensional acrostic class of word square containing a five-word Latin palindrome. The earliest squares were found at Roman-era sites, all in ROTAS-form (where the top l ...

References

External links

Capestrano official site

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