At the beginning, the difficulties must have been enormous and their homesickness unbearable. Only those who have experienced such hardships can understand what it means to leave one's family and one's village; not to meet one's friends in the square for a chat, no longer to walk along the streets where every stone was familiar, not to climb up narrow alleys with their well-known steps, not to see the distant outline of the mountain which seemed to be there to protect from outside danger, no longer to smell the heady scents of the meadows, nor to be caressed by the sea air; such was the sacrifice. Only the emigrant knows how many times he wanted to throw it all in and return to Abruzzo. In the evening, when filled with sadness he gazed at the setting sun perhaps it was only the thought of the life of hardship that would await him that gave him the strength to go on and the will to remain.

Many remained, in fact, and found fortune despite the enormous difficulty experienced in trying to fit into a completely unknown society with an incomprehensible language. In many cases, not being able to speak caused them to be cut off from prestigious jobs. Thus they made sure that their children learned the language perfectly so that they could climb the social ladder and attain high level positions. And it was at this point that our first emigrants, not sensing in the least the consequences which would ensue, began to consider their language as something their children were not to learn because it would limit them. They themselves began to coin a new language, a mixture of Anglo-American and Italo-Abruzzese words.

The children of this first generation of emigrants who are now grown up and often financially successful are usually unable to speak Italian. They remember a few dialect words learned from their parents and unfortunately have not been able to pass on our language to their children. These young people who have almost all been to a University know neither Italian nor the Abruzzo dialect. However they are the keepers of the customs and traditions of their ancestry. This generation of Abruzzan people scattered all over the world, has developed a notable interest for Abruzzo and Italy in general.

Their love for our land is natural and instinctive as it was for their parents and grandparents and it is also reinforced by cultural interest. For these young people Michelangelo, David, Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper", the Tower of Pisa and the Colosseum are not only artists and masterpieces to be admired, but they represent a link with their identity; there is a reason for being proud of having an Italian surname. Being proud of their identity means getting to know their roots.

Unfortunately, our relatives and friends who live a long way from Abruzzo and Italy do not know much about the land where their forefathers were born. They keep in their hearts and memories emotions and facts passed on to them by the older members of their families.

I remember a few years ago, I had a friend Al staying with me. He was from Philadelphia and his father had left his native village, Schiavi d'Abruzzo, at the beginning of the century. Al told me that his father used to tell him when he was a small child that his house had a balcony under which a river flowed. The first thing he asked me on arriving was to be taken to Schiavi d'Abruzzo to see the house by the river. I was only too happy to help him and we found the house. An old woman lived there, a distant relative of Al's. She was astonished when this stranger, as soon as he went into the house, headed straight for the balcony and opened the door to see the river flowing calmly by. That grown, strong man, so sure of himself, began to weep. I immediately understood his emotion, the woman who stared amazedly at him perhaps a little less.

This experience gave me the incentive to write a history of Abruzzo in English, dedicated to all Abruzzans living abroad. It is a story that covers the civilization of our Region from the paleolithic age up to today. The story unfolds slowly before the reader's eyes, and paleolithic villages, neolithic necropolises, Italic Temples, Roman theatres and spas, Benedictine Abbeys, Longobardic settlements, Norman towers, Angevin cities, Aragonese fortresses and Spanish castles pass before him taking shape in photographic images.

On reading these pages, one will be able to find an answer to many questions: why are there no large urban settlements? Why are so many villages perched on high hill-tops? Why are so many Abbeys to be found in such isolated places? Why has the inland area of Abruzzo always been so important in the progression of historical events? Why has every village its own traditions and dialect? Why were so many Abruzzans forced to emigrate? Why are there so many dark people in Abruzzo but also fair people with blue eyes? Why are we Abruzzans strong and sometimes gruff but at the same time kind and sensitive?

Moreover, I hope that by reading these pages, old and new generations of Abruzzans living abroad will find a new-born pride in being the sons of this land. Also that it will encourage them to cherish the sentiment which binds them to Abruzzo and a new found joy in passing it on to future generations.

Abruzzo is situated almost in the center of the Italian peninsula. It covers an area of 10,794 sq.kms. which is divided into four Provinces: L'Aquila, Chieti, Pescara and Teramo, with a population about 1.3 million inhabitants. The origin of the word Abruzzo is uncertain; according to the most reliable supposition it is an extension of the name of its most ancient inhabitants: the Petruzii. The Region lies between the middle section of the Appenine Chain (the backbone of Italy which runs down the whole length of Italy) and the Adriatic sea and is bordered by three regions: the Marches to the North, Molise to the South and Lazio to the West.

The Western part is characterized by the mountains which are divided into three chains: the Eastern chain which includes the Gran Sasso (Big Rock) and the Maiella Mountains, the Central Chain which includes the Velino and Sirente Mountains and the Western chain which includes the Carseolani, the Simbruini and the Ernici Mountains. The Eastern chain, the most majestic because of the height of its summits (the Corno Grande of the Gran Sasso d’Italia, 9,555 feet is the highest point of the whole Appenine range) divides Abruzzo into two distinct areas with two fundamentally different natures, one mountainous and the other maritime.

Between the mountain chains is the spectacular beauty of the fertile green table-land dotted by scattered hills and last but not least the Abruzzo National Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty where the woodlands burst into amazing colors. But the attraction of the region lies not only in the grandeur of its particular physical beauty, it includes towns large enough to have all you need, but not so large that they overwhelm you, a myriad of tiny villages mostly perched high on rocky crests, dozens of castles and Abbeys sitting in solitary splendor on hill tops and its fascinating origins and centuries-old history.

Just when men settled in Abruzzo is knowledge lost in the remotest of prehistoric times but stone objects (mainly weapons) found in Montebello di Bertona, near Penne, in the Grotta del Piccione, near Bolognano and in the Valle Civita near Rapino testify that 20,00-15,000 years ago, Abruzzo was already inhabited by cavemen. These men lived in caves and their biggest worry was how to find enough to eat. They had not yet learned how to keep cattle so they depended mainly on hunting for their food supply. They knew nothing about metal so whatever tools they had were made of wood, bone or stone. And they had to hunt on foot because they had not yet learned how to ride horses. The big animals they hunted were really their masters because the people depended on them so completely. When the animals moved away, they had to move too, so they never built houses for themselves, only rough shelters.

Over many thousands of years the cavemen living in Abruzzo gradually evolved and about 9,000 years ago a new era started: the New Stone Age. The descendants of the cavemen understood that stones could be shaped so they built better and better weapons; they also started to use clay to make vessels and various household items. However the biggest achievement of these men was finding out that there were ways of controlling their food supply instead of letting the food supply control them. First they learned how to tame and keep some of the animals they had hunted previously and later they became herdsmen who moved about with their sheep, goats, or cattle always looking for grazing lands. They tamed not only animals, but plants too, collecting the seeds and growing their own crops. Evidence of the New Stone Age in Abruzzo is visible in Corropoli in the Teramo Province. Here, in the Archeological Excavations of Ripoli, a village dating back 6,000 years can be visited.

When these people started planting their grain, they came to understand that they had to settle down and so the first towns were built. They probably consisted of a simple cluster of huts. It is in this period, about 6,000 years ago, that men discovered the possibility of using metals to make simple tools needed for everyday life. At first, only gold, silver and copper were used and simple jewels were made out of ore but later these people understood that bronze could be molded as well and they started to make all sorts of tools and weapons. At Ortucchio near Avezzano, excavations have unearthed remains of the Bronze Age.

The Iron Age started about 4,000 years ago and the most important achievement was iron molding. During the late Iron Age, let us say about 2,500 years ago, Abruzzo must have possessed an indigenous civilization of great interest. This civilization, called "Picena" or also "Middle Adriatic", was confined to the coastal strip from the Marches, the Northern boundary of Abruzzo, to the Southern boundary of Puglia and extended into the hinterland towards the Peligna basin and the Tirino Valley.

The greatest testimony of this civilization and one of the most important finds regarding Abruzzo's earliest history is the Warrior of Capestrano. This fascinating statue is on display in Chieti's National Archeological Museum; it represents a warrior and, once seen, is never forgotten. It is also interesting to know how it came to light. One summer day an Abruzzese farmer was plowing the earth in his vineyard, not far from Capestrano, when he suddenly saw a strange stone among the clods. He ploughed a bit deeper into the ground and soon realized that the stone was a statue. Working more carefully, little by little, he succeeded in unearthing a large stone figure. The news soon spread about and lots of people came to the spot to admire the enigmatic statue standing in the middle of the field.

The first to realize that the findings might be of great importance was a Franciscan monk from the local monastery who soon informed the authorities. The Superintendent of Antiquities immediately came from Rome, and Capestrano, a small town near L'Aquila, attracted the attention of the cultural world. A three-month excavation campaign in the area of the finds revealed that the farmer's vineyard was part of a vast ancient burial ground. In the course of the excavations the Warrior's helmet and a small female torso which may represent his wife were brought to light together with some thirty ruined tombs.

The Picene tribes lived mainly in the area now occupied by Teramo and its surroundings but slowly spread over the territory where modern-day Abruzzo and Molise lie. They gave birth to an ethnic stock called the Italics and the Abruzzo people may be considered their direct descendants. The Italics were organized into different tribes with different names: Vestini, Peligni, Marsi, Equi, Sabini, Sanniti, Petruzii, Marrucini and Frentani and the civilization they created is still very much alive in Abruzzo traditions. The place names of different towns, streets and roads used in our region show that the inhabitants of Abruzzo feel that their culture is deeply rooted in that of the Italic culture. Castel Frentano, San Martino sulla Marrucina, Canosa Sannita, Lama dei Peligni, Taranta Peligna, Torricella Peligna, San Benedetto dei Marsi, San Demetrio nei Vestini and Scurcola Marsicana are all towns - the names of which echo their Italic roots whose origins go back at least 2,500 years.

Even the street-names of our towns remind us of our glorious forefathers: Via Italica, Via dei Peligni and Via dei Marsi are important roads in Pescara; Corso Marrucino is the main street in Chieti and the Marrucina Road, The Frentana Road, and the Piceno-Aprutina Road are still important connecting roads in Abruzzo.

These Italic tribes spoke dialects of a common Italic language called Sabellic or Oscan and each of them occupied a distinct geographical territory which reached far south of the region and extended into the Molise and Campania. Together they gave rise to a new civilization; evidence of which is displayed in the Archeological Museum of Chieti.

Here a fascinating array of every day life minutiae of 2,500 - 2,300 years ago: spoons, buckles, glasses, vases and jewelry as well as a variety of weapons and armory like helmets and spears, reveal a civilization of notable wealth and refinement. These objects are representative of the rich finds made in the burial ground of Campovalano in the Province of Teramo where 270 tombs dating back 2,600 - 2,500 years were unearthed.

The Italic people believed that the spirit of the dead needed the same material things as a living person, so they furnished their tombs like a regular household and this is why many objects used in every-day life are found in their tombs. In the Museum of Chieti we can also admire small bronze statues of various gods and as most of them represent Hercules, we can guess that this god was the most worshipped among the Italic tribes. Remains of Italic temples can be found in Schiavi D'Abruzzo, in the Province of Chieti and in Penna Sant'Andrea, in the Province of Teramo.

The Italic tribes were fierce people and always at odds with each other; among them outstood the Samnites, a proud and bold people. We know a lot about them because many Roman writers, namely Tito, Livio and Plinio, wrote accounts of the Roman expeditions against the Samnites who are described as hardy fighters, fearless and stubborn. When Rome started its expansion to the Abruzzo territory about 2,100 years ago, most of the Italic tribes tried to resist the Roman legions holding their resistance together in Corfinio, which was given the name Italia.

The Italic people were not easy to conquer but eventually some of them accepted a peaceful agreement and others were defeated. Only the Samnites resisted the Roman attacks; they fought hard to keep their land and the clash was terrible. In the end Rome won; the legionaries burned, plundered, spoiled villages and killed men, women and children. The Italic people were definitively defeated 2,090 years ago when the Romanization of Abruzzo started.

The two leading cities founded by the Romans in Abruzzo were Chieti named Teate and Teramo named Interamnia. They became prosperous cities and seats of Governments. Chieti with 60,000 inhabitants could boast temples, theatres and a complex of baths. The ancient remains of the baths show what skilled architects the Romans were. It is worth spending a few words about Roman baths.

A bath-house was more like a club than a place to wash. They were places where friends could meet, talk and do business. People left their clothes in the first room and in the second one, the gymnasium; they might do some exercises to start sweating. After this they were ready for the bath: firstly a cold bath, then a hot bath and lastly a sauna. After this a slave rubbed oil on the bather's skin and then scraped it off with a special scraper. Finally the bathers could enjoy a rest. The most remarkable thing about the Roman bath in Chieti is the floor paved with mosaics representing a struggle between dolphins and sea-horses. Mosaics are an ancient method of making designs out of small cubes of marble set into plaster and fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle. Mosaics may be considered the most demanding technique the Romans developed for translating paintings into more durable materials.

But Roman remains are to be found in many other places. In Alba Fucens and Amiternum you can walk on streets designed by an engineer 2,000 years ago, observe the foundations and ruins of these Roman towns and stand among squares, amphitheatres, gymnasia and baths. The ruins of amphitheatres still standing in these two small boroughs in the province of I'Aquila are another excellent example of the building skill of the Romans especially in the arrangement of the entrances, both for the spectators to reach the galleries and for the actors to reach the arena, and we must not forget that modern stadiums are still modeled on the Roman theaters.

Besides Chieti, Teramo, Alba Fucens and Amiternum, numerous lesser towns gained in size and, fame: Atri, Penne, Corfinio and Peltuinum were all flourishing towns. A network of roads was built: the Salaria road and the Tiburtina Valeria road; they all led to Rome and all sorts of goods, farm produce and salt from the Adriatic Sea could be taken there.

About 2,000 years ago, Rome was a mighty Empire that stretched all the way from England to Egypt and from Spain to Southern Russia. The Romans had a great talent for government and politics and when we think of the many countries and the different kinds of people that came under their rule, we cannot help wondering how they ever succeeded in holding their empire together. It must have been a difficult task.

There was one thing however that the Romans failed to do: they did not give the people within the Empire a common religious faith. They never insisted that any colonized country had to accept their religion. All they required was a formal sacrifice every year to the Emperor, who was to them a kind of hero-god. The Greek gods, the Egyptian gods, and all the other local gods were allowed to compete with each other, and since there were so many of them, nobody really knew what to believe in.

Such confusion was all very well as long as the Empire was stable and peaceful, but when things began to go badly people felt a great need for the comfort and assurance that comes from a strong faith. It was then that they turned to the followers of Jesus Christ. By the time the Empire was about to collapse Christianity had won out over all the other religions, and the Christian Church was well established. When, in 476 A.D., the Roman Empire fell, the Abruzzo region was dragged into decline with it and, invaded by warlike tribes from the North and East of Europe. The towns were almost deserted because they offered no protection. People took refuge in the mountains for greater safety in the face of the raids of the barbarians and only Christianity could check the enormous decline of the Region.

Of this period little or nothing is known with certainty because it is scarcely documented. What we know is that Abruzzo suffered a series of attacks by raiders coming from Northern and Eastern Europe. Firstly came the Goths, a Teutonic people. They did not settle in our Region, but they plundered and destroyed many of the towns built by the Romans. The Goths were followed by other invaders and our Region was a battlefield. By the year 580 A.D. the Longobards arrived. They were of Germanic stock but had settled in Northern Italy. They were illiterate but understood that there was a great deal they could learn, so they settled in Abruzzo with their families.

Many towns destroyed by the Goths were rebuilt. Vasto and Penne gradually became two leading Longobard centers of trade; some towns came into existence: Moscufo was founded by the Longobards and a Longobard castle still stands in Cepagatti. Besides, many Longobard chiefs embraced the Christian faith and built churches: Santa Maria in Piano in Loreto Aprutino was founded by a Longobard queen.

During those years, people in Abruzzo lived in bitter poverty. They abandoned the towns which were continuously threatened by invaders founding new communities firstly in the countryside and later on safer hilltops. With the end of Roman imperial rule, most of the wealthy men, scholars, and skilled workmen had fled to Byzantium, now called Istanbul, where the Roman Empire had moved its headquarters.

Abruzzo was left in dreadful disorder with no cohesive organization, either administrative or commercial, therefore the new Christian religion that was spreading all over the areas once occupied by Rome found Abruzzo ready to receive the new faith without reserve. It quickly flourished throughout the Region and from the new concept of Christian life came the strength to face almost impossible conditions of life. In Abruzzo the new religion was brought by Benedictine monks coming from Montecassino Abbey. They were pious religious men who lived together under strict discipline in special communities called monasteries.

Abruzzo is spotted with beautiful monasteries and abbeys founded by monks in the years 600-700 A.D. San Liberatore alla Maiella near Serramonacesca, San Giovanni in Venere in Fossacesia, San Pietro ad Oratorium in Capestrano, Santa Maria in Bominaco, Santa Maria in Propezzano and innumerable other lesser ones became the vital nerve centers of the region's economic recovery. They were (besides being religious houses) seats of Government, organized agricultural concerns, the gravitational center for craftsmen, hospitals for the infirm and, above all, centers for study and cultural exchanges with sister communities beyond the Alps.

The Benedictine monks were priests and teachers whose task was to spread both faith and education. In those days almost every monastery had a workshop for making copies of the Bible and other books. This was done by hand, because printing had not yet been invented. The monks did not even know about paper; they wrote on vellum, a material made from calf skin, which was much more expensive but also a great deal tougher. The writing shops also employed painters whose job was to illuminate the manuscript with pictures and ornaments. These miniatures (from 'minium' a red pigment) were done with marvelous great care. For many centuries they were the most important kind of paintings, and the best of them can stand comparison with any mural or panel picture.

It is not surprising that the monks took manuscript paintings so seriously. After all, their faith was based on the Bible and, since it contained the word of God, every copy of it was sacred, and illuminating it, to make it as beautiful as possible, was a way of worshipping God.

In 742, a great Christian King, Charlemagne or Charles the Great was born in what is now France. Charlemagne dreamed of restoring the shattered Roman Empire, and Leo III, who was Pope at the time, encouraged him. Charlemagne came South, defeated the Longobard King and then drove his army to Rome. On Christmas day, in the year 800, Leo III crowned him Emperor of the new Holy Roman Empire.

Charlemagne, the first Medieval Emperor, ruled over France, Germany and most of Italy. He wanted his people to learn everything about early Christian Religion but most of the people could not read so he encouraged the painters to tell the Gospel story through mural paintings. People visiting the Abbeys could see the sacred stories illustrated on a long, narrow strip on the walls, and learn everything about Christ's life. So the painters learned to tell stories with pictures and the result was a great new style, the so-called Romanesque which flowered in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. These mural paintings can be seen in most of the Abruzzan Abbeys, some of them are faded away, but their story telling power can still be perceived. After Charlemagne's death, his Empire was split up among his heirs.

During this period the monasteries grew in power and the population of the region mainly peasants and craftsmen was organized into a society gravitating around the Abbeys and Bishoprics in whose hands the land, the only source of work and wealth was held. In 871 Ludovico II founded a new monastery: San Clemente a Casauria which became one of the most important places where thinkers from different monasteries could meet, argue, enquire and share information.

The most important and significant monuments of the region built in the so called Romanesque style, belong to this period and still today their presence and great artistic value bear witness to the creativity and sensibility of the Abruzzan architects and craftsmen of the time. Charlemagne's dynasty established the feudal system in Abruzzo. This new social organization can be compared to a ladder.

During the Angevin period L'Aquila grew and prospered. It became Abruzzo's main commercial center and merchants from all over Europe worked and lived in the city. Many streets in L'Aquila still bear witness to its international historical past: Via degli Alemanni (Germans' Road), Via dei Francesi (French Road), Via degli Albanesi (Albanians' Road), Via dei Veneziani (Venetians' Road) and Via dei Lombardi (Lombards' Road) testify to the importance of L'Aquila as an international market in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

In 1294 a very important religious and political event brought prestige to L'Aquila: Pietro di Morrone, a monk who lived as a hermit in a cave hollowed out of the Maiella mountain was crowned Pope at L'Aquila under the name of Celestino V in the Basilica of Saint Maria of Collemaggio.

The Basilica can still be seen and admired: it stands in a prominent position in a vast square and proudly displays a facade of pink and white stone, enhanced by richly carved Romanesque doors. King Charles I of Anjou attended the ceremony bringing pageantry to the city. By 1300 L'Aquila had become an important political and financial center with 60,000 inhabitants.

In Abruzzo bitter rivalry among noble families who often changed sides according to the change of fortune made things difficult for the common people. Villages were plundered by bands of soldiers and brigands and to make things worse the Black Death carried off more than one third of the population. However the coming of the Aragonese King was welcomed in Southern Italy, especially in Sicily where the Angevin Kings had taken advantage of the local aristocracy thus spreading dissatisfaction and disappointment.

In Abruzzo the Angevin dynasty had not completely lost the favor and confidence of its supporters and L'Aquila, which had a powerful army, sided with the Anjou family for many years. In 1438, the same King Alphonso V of Aragone had to march with a huge army from Capua to Abruzzo in order to subdue many towns of our proud Region. The clash was bitter: Sulmona, Popoli, Caramanico and Penne, all towns which had prospered in the previous century were destroyed. L'Aquila had to yield in its turn while other important towns like Guardiagrele, Atessa, Lanciano, Ortona and Francavilla thought it was wise to surrender and submit to the new invader. We can say that this period of struggles marked the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

After the great destruction that took place during the conflicts between the Angevin dynasty and the Aragonese dynasty many towns and castles were rebuilt. The fortress of Civitella del Tronto, an imposing structure of military engineering which already existed in the year 1000, was enlarged and strengthened; Chieti became residence of the viceroy and the presence of royalty brought prestige and pageantry to the city. Pescara, which had been a famous Roman harbor and had completely been neglected in the course of the following years, was donated by King Alphonso to the noble Spanish family D'Avalos.

The D'Avalos family took a great interest in Pescara and tried to transform in into a lively center by improving its harbor. Atri, which was a possession of the Acquaviva family, improved its elegant civil buildings and the Cathedral, where Gothic forms had been incorporated alongside Romanesque forms, was embellished by superb frescoes of Andrea De Litio. Lanciano evolved into a busy town, famous for its market which became a trade center attracting people from all over Europe.

The period saw the application of technical innovations in many fields: Sulmona became famous for the paper industry, in 1458 a University was founded in L'Aquila and in 1482 Adamo of Tottweil started a typography. Books were printed, classical texts were issued; the 'art of writing artificially' attracted many learned men to L'Aquila and fine arts flourished in the city. It was the spirit of the Renaissance that manifested itself in Abruzzo enhanced by the strong character of the Abruzzese people: proud, stubborn, fierce and determined to get ahead in spite of conflicts and invasions. The last of the Aragonese kings, Ferdinand I, died in 1494 and Abruzzo, being part of the Realm of Naples again, was turned into a battlefield.

We call this period Spanish Abruzzo because our region was dominated by the Spanish kings. The period, which lasted about two hundred years, was marked by a series of wars waged by French and Austrian kings on the Spanish dynasty. They all claimed the throne of the Realm of Naples and unfortunately most of the battles were fought on the Abruzzese territory bringing about great poverty especially among the lower classes.

The middle years of the sixteenth century saw the decline of L'Aquila, the growing prosperity of Chieti and the expansion of Pescara as a maritime fortification. As already stated, L’Aquila had become the largest Abruzzese town in the fifteenth century, had developed into a trading and cultural center and above all had always enjoyed a certain independence. When Emperor Charles V inherited the Kingdom of Naples, L'Aquila refused to submit to the laws imposed by the new ruler and in 1520 a rebellion broke out. Unfortunately it was unsuccessful and as a consequence the Emperor obliged the inhabitants of the town to build a huge castle on which was written "ad reprimendam Aquilanorum auclaciam", that is to say: "To repress Aquilanis' audacity".

The castle was used to guard the Northern outpost of the Kingdom of Naples from invasions but also to garrison the rebellious town of L’Aquila. It can still be admired; it is an impressive fortress situated in a strategic position overlooking the neighboring valleys. The building houses the Museum of Art of Abruzzo which contains sections devoted to archeology, paintings, sculptures and ceramics. After the revolt, life became hard for the inhabitants of L'Aquila. Everything began to decline and many institutions slowly lost prestige.

Meanwhile Chieti, because of its devotion to the Emperor, acquired power, evolved into a large densely populated town, improved its buildings and became the center of intellectual activity. The Pope made it seat of the High Clergy and the town became one of the most important outposts of the Catholic Religion. In those years the whole of Europe was in a moral turmoil and a revolution against the Catholic faith led by the German Augustinian monk Martin Luther had taken a violent turn. Chieti became a bulwark against Protestantism and in 1568 a seminary was founded which gave the Church apostles, bishops and popes. Furthermore the Archibishop of Chieti founded the Congregation of the Teatines, a host of fearless confessors of the Catholic faith.

In the same period, Pescara evolved into a military citadel, strengthening the role already played in the previous century. It housed troops, heads of armies and a military governor; through him the Viceroy of Naples had direct control over the Adriatic Sea.

At the time, the Turks of King Soliman periodically attacked the Adriatic coast and in 1566 the Pescarese garrison fought a glorious battle against them defeating the 105 ships led by the famous admiral Pialy Pascia. The following years saw the recession of some areas and the development of others.

Teramo, as already mentioned, was an important center in the Roman period but with the decline of Rome was dragged into recession brought about by the raids of barbarian invasions. The Norman and Swabian period saw Teramo in full ferment, but later its inhabitants refused to support Charles of Anjou and the king abolished the political benefits enjoyed by the town. During the following century, Teramo was torn by the rivalries between two powerful families: the Melatinos and the Della Valles and this political disunity continued over the following years. From then on, its lot under the various dynasties which disputed the kingdom of Naples was uncertain until the struggle of the Risorgimento when Teramo contributed to the life of the new Italian Nation. The dark age of Teramo coincided with the consolidation of many other towns.

Pescocostanzo which had begun as a Roman settlement, was then plundered by raiders but in later times became an Aragonese stronghold. In this period Pescocostanzo became a commercial center where wealthy merchants lived; they brought full employment to the town and echoes of the town's prosperous past can be seen in the well-kept religious and public buildings.

Besides, Sulmona, Avezzano, Penne and Vasto experienced an astonishing growth in population and prosperity due to the energy and intelligence of their inhabitants. And we must not forget Abruzzo's best smaller gem: Castelli, a little town perched high on a rocky crest on the slope of the Gran Sasso Mountain. This tiny village was inhabited by families of craftsmen who produced pottery. They became famous all over Europe for their splendidly decorated wares. Ceramics produced in Castelli are on display in the British Museum, in the Victoria and Albert Museum and in Louvre.

But elsewhere in Abruzzo, life was not easy. Thousands of people lived in the country and cultivated small pieces of land which did not belong to them but to the local gentry who owned huge estates and continued to live as feudal lords. Here, on the whole, the living standard was low and recurrent famines, fevers and floods swept away many lives.

The year 1734 saw the establishment of the Bourbons, a Spanish dynasty, in the Kingdom of Naples. They ruled the vast realm from this date to 1860 when the unification of Italy, that is to say the integration of the various Italian states into a single Nation unit, took place. Italy had never existed as a whole Nation before: since the Roman time it had been divided into Municipii [boroughs) and at the beginning of the year 1000 into big Capital Cities. Each Capital City dominated its surrounding rural area and these were called City-States. By the end of the year 1400 some of these City-States had become enormously rich, some even won oversea colonies. Each City-State was ruled by a noble family of Italian stock.

The most famous of them were the Medici, a rich and powerful family who ruled Florence, the Sforzas who ruled Milan and the Gonzagas who ruled Mantua. These powerful families hired skilled workmen to build magnificent palaces and churches and decorate them with paintings and stone carvings. Michelangelo Buonarroti, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello Sanzio and Tiziano were artists employed by these families and they made Italian cities the richest and probably the most beautiful in all Europe. The Medici, the Sforzas, the Gonzagas, the Popes from the Vatican State and the Doges from the Republic of Venice also encouraged talented young people to study the Roman and Greek civilization which had been swept away by centuries of barbarous invasions and to unearth all that Rome had created in her days of greatness.

Artists and patrons, together brought about in Italy a rebirth of arts and learning, and from Italy the rebirth of knowledge known as the Renaissance, spread to all men in every part of the world. A stay in Italy became a must for men of learning and necessary complement of a fashionable education. Travelers from the North of Europe came to Italy to observe the artists, to study the movement of thought and the most highly gifted of them tried to make their country profit by what they had seen. One of them wrote: "Men of Italy can do anything they please, and in a moment, an architect, if you wish it, will chase you a brooch, and a painter will paint you a church. In the time it takes a northern artist to rough-hew a piece of wood, an Italian craftsman will have carved out of it a Venus or an Angel".

The Renaissance was the foundation of the culture upon which the western world has been built ever since. And we can say that all achievements made by man in our age have their foundations in this historical period when minds began to be warmed by the flame of Knowledge, and the desire to see and learn grew without ceasing. Eventually most of these City-States lost their power and much of their wealth, they became prey to European nations but the world has never lost what they gave it.