Celano is a town 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 ...

'' in the Province of L'Aquila, 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 ...

, east of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

by rail.

Geography

Celano rises on the top of a hill in the territory of Marsica, below the mountain range of Sirente. It faces the valley of

Fucino The Fucine Lake ( it, Lago Fucino or ) was a large endorheic lake in western Abruzzo, central Italy, stretching from Avezzano in the northwest to Ortucchio in the southeast, and touching Trasacco in the southwest. Once the third largest lake in ...

, once filled by the large Fucine Lake, which was drained during the 19th century.

History

After the fall of the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...

, Celano suffered from the invasions of

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

(6th century). The city passed under

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

control, and was then subdued by the Lombards and governed by the duchies of

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Sp ...

and Benevento. From the 8th century,

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

and his descendants ruled the Marsica region independently of Spoleto, raising it to the rank of county. Celano was elected ''Caput Marsorum'' (capital city of the Marsica region), governed by the Berardi family. From around the year 1140, it was captured by the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

, who annexed it to the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

. Fearing that Marsica was becoming too powerful, in the year 1223 Emperor Frederick II ordered his army to destroy the castles of the region. Celano suffered a long

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

, which ended with its defeat and total destruction and the exile of its entire male population to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Once the feudal rights of Celano were abolished the region came under the jurisdiction of the Giustizierato of

Abruzzo , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1 ...

, with Sulmona as capital. After the intercession of the

Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of import ...

, Emperor Frederick II authorised the inhabitants to return from exile. The new city was rebuilt three years after its destruction, about one kilometre from the ancient city. Celano reflourished and was once again governed by the Berardi family. After a series of struggles between the Angevins and Aragonese, in the 15th century the family of Berardi was dethroned by the family of the

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 Augu ...

of Pienza, allied to the Aragonese, who governed the city and its county. Celano was incorporated into the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

till 1860, except during the years associated with the Napoleonic era and the Parthenopean Republic. In the year 1591, the Piccolomini family sold the County of Celano to Camilla Peretti, sister of Pope Sixtus V. The city was at times also governed by the Savelli and

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last m ...

families and was damaged by

earthquakes An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fro ...

in the years 1695, 1780, 1915 and 2009. From the year 1860, Celano belonged to the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

Main sites

The square Piccolomini Castle, with round towers at the corners, was erected in its present form on the top of the San Vittorino Hill. Its construction was commissioned by Count Pietro Berardi around the year 1392, and was finished around 1451. In 1463, it was adapted on the orders of Antonio Piccolomini. On January 13, 1915, the castle was seriously damaged by a terrible earthquake that destroyed many villages in the area. The restoration began 25 years later, in 1940, but was interrupted because of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and was resumed only in 1955, with completion in 1960. Today, the castle hosts the Museum of Sacred Art of the Marsica. The beautiful castle is easily recognisable driving on the highway A25 between Rome and Pescara. Celano is home to three churches with 13th-century façades, in the style of those of L'Aquila.

Culture and sport

Celano F.C. Marsica plays in

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti ...

Group F in the 2012/2013 football season. Celano's sister city is Żejtun in

Notable people

Celano is the birthplace of the Blessed Thomas of Celano, born between the years 1185 and 1190, and follower of St. Francis of Assisi, and of the classical pianist Nazzareno Carusi.

References

External links

* :it:Immagine:Celano con Castello Piccolomini.jpg
Picture of Castello Piccolomini
{{authority control Marsica