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 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 comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part of ...

, in Abruzzo, 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 ...

. 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 ...

, in a valley in the Apennine Mountains. 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 ...

Pescocostanzo Pescocostanzo is a ''comune'' and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is a tourist destination, attracting people from all over Italy due to its landscape and environment. In winter, Pescocostanzo is a destination fo ...

, Rivisondoli,

San Pietro Avellana San Pietro Avellana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Isernia in the Italian region of Molise, about northwest of Campobasso and some north of Isernia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 630 and an area of .All demo ...

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 loca ...

History

Castel di Sangro was known to the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

as Aufidena (a city of the Samnites). 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 of the First Canadian Division 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 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 n ...

In 1996, Castel di Sangro was visited by American 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 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 season. It had been ...

, the second-highest league in Italian football. The club now plays at Abruzzo's Promozione 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 Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630. Its census agglomeration is 26,929. History Kentville owes its location to the Cornwallis River ...

, Nova Scotia, Canada, in honour of the city's liberation in 1943 by the West Nova Scotia Regiment based at Kentville.

References

External links

Official website

Castel di Sangro 1 Scout Group official website
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