Castel di Sangro (locally ''Caštiéllë'') is a city and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of 6,461 people (as of 2013) in the Province of L'Aquila, in

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

, Central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It is the main city of the Alto Sangro e Altopiano delle Cinque Miglia area.

Geography

Castel di Sangro is located near the

Sangro River The Sangro is a river in eastern central Italy, known in ancient times as Sagrus from the Greek ''Sagros'' or ''Isagros'', ''Ισαγρος''. It rises in the middle of Abruzzo National Park near Pescasseroli in the Apennine Mountains. It flows s ...

, in a valley in the

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

. Neighbouring towns include

Roccaraso Roccaraso is a town and ''comune'' in central Italy, in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region. History Founding The town of Roccaraso dates back to around 975 AD, and is located near the Rasinus stream, from which some believe it t ...

, Pescocostanzo,

Rivisondoli Rivisondoli is a village and ''comune'' in the province of L'Aquila The Province of L'Aquila ( it, Provincia dell'Aquila) is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated province of the Abruzzo region of Central Italy. It compris ...

, San Pietro Avellana and

Montenero Val Cocchiara Montenero Val Cocchiara is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Isernia, in the Molise region (southern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is locat ...

History

Castel di Sangro was known to the Romans as Aufidena (a city of the

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they for ...

). It is the ancestral home of the third and last line of the House of Caesar (Catulus Caesar). In the Second World War, the city was liberated by the

West Nova Scotia Regiment The West Nova Scotia Regiment is a line infantry regiment of the Canadian Army, part of the Primary Reserve, and is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 36 Canadian Brigade Group. The regiment recruits volunteers from the South-Western part of th ...

of the

First Canadian Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...

in November 1943. The regiment launched a night attack against the hilltop monastery which overlooks the city on November 22 but had to withdraw after suffering heavy losses from machine gun positions of the 3rd Battalion of the German 1st Parachute Regiment. The Canadians attacked a second time on November 24 supported by a heavy artillery bombardment which forced the Germans to withdrawn, allowing the regiment to occupy the monastery without losses bringing Castel di Sangro and the south bank of the Sangro River into Allied hands.

Main sights

Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

Museo civico aufidenate Museo civico aufidenate (Italian for ''Civic Museum of Aufidena'', an ancient Roman town) is an archaeology museum in Castel di Sangro, Province of L'Aquila The Province of L'Aquila ( it, Provincia dell'Aquila) is the largest, most mountainous ...

Sport

The town gained some popularity in the mid-1990s thanks to the exploits of local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club

Castel di Sangro Calcio Castel di Sangro Cep is an Italian association football club from Castel di Sangro in the Province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo. They currently play in Eccellenza Molise. Their moment of greatness came in 1996, when they were promoted to Serie B, a no ...

In 1996, Castel di Sangro was visited by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

author

Joe McGinniss Joseph Ralph McGinniss Sr. (December 9, 1942 – March 10, 2014) was an American non-fiction writer and novelist. The author of twelve books, he first came to prominence with the best-selling ''The Selling of the President 1968'' which describe ...

who wrote ''The Miracle of Castel di Sangro'', a book about the team that made it up through 5 leagues to get to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

, the second-highest league in Italian football. The club now plays at Abruzzo's

Promozione The Promozione (, "promotion") is the sixth level in the Italian football league system. Each individual league winner within the Promozione level progresses to their closest regional league in the Eccellenza level. Depending on each league's lo ...

level, five levels below Serie B.

Districts

Castel di Sangro is divided into six districts: * Civita * Stazione * Colle * Codacchiola * Ara * Piazza

Transportation

Castel di Sangro has for years been a transit point for many people, because of its location making it the gateway into Abruzzo.

Roads

Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta in Castel di Sangro (AQ)

The main roads are: * The Sangro Valley road, a highway connecting Castel di Sangro with the Val di Sangro, and then with the Adriatic Sea. The same road continues for a long stretch southward and is used by thousands of tourists who come from areas of Campania and other regions of southern Italy. * The SS 17, a fast road connecting L'Aquila to Foggia. This road is very busy, with both local and through traffic. Its true capacity is often exceeded and it has seen a large number of accidents, some fatal. It is, however, generally well-managed, remaining open throughout the winter, despite the high altitude of the route. * The Isernia - Castel di Sangro highway. Completed in 2011, this road halved the driving time from the Alto Molise to the Alto Sangro.

Sister city

* Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada, in honour of the city's liberation in 1943 by the

based at Kentville.

References

External links

Official website

Castel di Sangro 1 Scout Group official website
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