Pescara
—  Comune  —
Città di Pescara
Pescara Harbour
Coat of arms
Pescara Location of Pescara in Italy
Coordinates: 42°27′50″N 14°12′51″E / 42.46389°N 14.21417°E / 42.46389; 14.21417
Country	Italy
Region	Abruzzo
Province	Pescara (PE)
Frazioni	Castellammare, Colle Breccia, Colle della Pietra, Colle Madonna, Colle di Mezzo, Colle Marino, Colle San Donato, Collescorrano, Colli Innamorati, Fontanelle, Fontanelle Alta, Madonna del Fuoco, Portanuova, Rancitelli, San Donato, San Silvestro, San Silvestro Spiaggia, Santa Filomena, Villa Fabio, Zanni
Government
• Mayor	Luigi Albore Mascia
Area
• Total	33.6 km2 (13.0 sq mi)
Elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (31 March 2009)
• Total	123,103
• Density	3,700/km2 (9,500/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	65100
Dialing code	085
Website	Official website

Pescara  listen (help·info) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. As of January 1, 2007 it was the most populated city within Abruzzo at 123,059 residents, 400,000 with the surrounding metropolitan area. Located on the Adriatic coast at the mouth of the Aterno-Pescara river, the present-day municipality was formed in 1927 joining the municipalities of Pescara, the part of the city to the south of the river (then in the province of Chieti), and Castellamare Adriatico, the part of the city to the north of the river (then in the province of Teramo). The surrounding area was formed into the province of Pescara. The poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, a native of Pescara, was a major sponsor for the creation of the new city.

The main commercial street of the city is Corso Umberto I, which runs from Piazza della Republica and reaches the seacoast at Piazza Primo Maggio. The rectangle that it forms with Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and Via Nicola Fabrizi encloses the main shopping district, where several of the best fashion shops are located. Corso Manthonè, the course of the old Pescara has, for many years, been the center of the nightlife of the city. City hall and the administration of the province are in Piazza Italia, near the river, and in the area between here and the faculties of Economics, Architecture, Foreign Languages and Literature of G. d'Annunzio University to the south, a business district has grown up over the years. To the immediate south of the mouth of the river is the marina. Pescara has also an important international airport, called Abruzzo Airport and one of the most important and major ports of Adriatic Sea and Italy, the Port of Pescara.

Geography[link]

Pescara is situated at sea level on the Adriatic coast and has developed from around 1600 BC onwards at the strategic position around the mouth of the Aterno-Pescara river. The coast is low and sandy and the beach extends, unbroken for some distance to both the north and the south of the river, reaching a width of approximately 140m in the area around Pineta to the north. To the south the pine forest that once gave shade to bathers along much of the Adriatic coast, has almost disappeared near the beach, but remains within the Pineta Dannunziana Provincial Nature Reserve.

The urban fabric of the city spreads over a flat T-shaped area, which occupies the valley around the river and the coastal strip. To the northwest and the southwest, the city is also expanding into the surrounding hills which were first occupied in the neolithic period.

The whole city is affected by the presence of groundwater, the level of which varies by up to a meter, being at its highest in spring due to snow melting in the mountains inland.

Climate[link]

Pescara has a Mediterranean climate typical of Adriatic Sea, with dry, hot summers, rainy winters and high humidity all year round. The average temperature is around 7 °C (45 °F) in the coldest month (January) and 24.5 °C (76 °F) in the warmest month (July). The lowest temperature recorded in the city was −13 °C (9 °F) on January 4, 1979. The highest was registered on August 30, 2007 at 45 °C (113 °F). Precipitation is low (around 676 mm per annum) and concentrated mainly in the late autumn.

Pescara is a coastal city but its climate is influenced by the surrounding mountains (the Maiella and the chain of Gran Sasso). When the wind is southwesterly, Pescara experiences a Foehn wind that often reaches 100 km/h, causing a sudden increase in temperature and decrease in relative humidity, and for that reason winters with temperatures that exceed 20 °C (68 °F) almost daily are not unknown. Under northeasterly winds Pescara suffers precipitation which is generally weak, but can be much more intense if accompanied by a depression. Also from the north east comes winter weather from Siberia that, on average, brings abundant snowfalls every 3–4 years. In summer the weather is mostly stable and sunny with temperatures that, thanks to the sea breeze, rarely exceed 35 degrees unless a southwesterly Libeccio is blowing. Particularly in summer, but also in winter, the high humidity leads to morning and evening mist or haze.

History[link]

Pescara's origins precede the Roman conquest. The name of both the ancient city and the river was Aternum: it was connected to Rome through the Via Claudia Valeria and the Via Tiburtina. The main building was the temple of Jovis Aternium. The city was an important port for trade with the Eastern provinces of the Empire.

In the Middle Ages it was destroyed by the Lombards (597). Saint Cetteus, the city's patron saint, was a bishop of the 6th century, elected to the see of Amiternum in Sabina (today the city of San Vittorino) in 590, during the pontificate of Gregory the Great.^[2] His legend goes that he was executed by the Lombards at Amiternum by being thrown off a bridge with a stone tied around his neck; his body floated to Pescara.^[2]

In 1095 Pescara was a rich city with an important series of monuments and churches. In 1140 Roger of Sicily conquered the city, giving rise to a period in which it was destroyed by armies ravaging the Kingdom of Sicily. The name of Piscaria ("abounding with fish") is mentioned for the first time in this period. Several seignors ruled over Pescara afterwards, including Rainaldo Orsini, Louis of Savoy and Francesco del Borgo, the vicar of king Ladislaus of Naples, who had the fortress and the tower built.

The subsequent rulers were the D'Avalos. In 1424 the famous condottiero Muzio Attendolo died here. Another adventurer, Jacopo Caldora, conquered the city in 1435 and 1439. In the following years Pescara was repeatedly attacked by the Venetians, and later, as part of the Spanish Kingdom of Naples, it was turned into a massive fortress.

In 1566 it was besieged by 105 Turk galleys. It resisted fiercely and the Ottomans only managed to ravage the surrounding territory.

At the beginning of the 18th century Pescara had some 3,000 inhabitants, half of them living in the Castellammare. In 1707 it was attacked by Austrian troops under the command of the duke of Wallis: the city, led by Giovanni Girolamo II Acquaviva, resisted for two months before capitulating.

Pescara was always part of the Kingdom of Naples, apart from the brief age of the Republic of Naples of 1798–1799. The city was therefore attacked by the pro-Bourbon Giuseppe Pronio. In 1800 Pescara fell to French troops, becoming an important military stronghold of Joseph Bonaparte's reign. Castellammare, which now had 3,000 inhabitants of its own, became a separate municipality.

In 1814, Pescara's Carboneria revolted against Joachim Murat. There, on May 15, 1815, the king undersigned one of the first constitutions of the Italian Risorgimento. In the following years Pescara became a symbol of the Bourbon's violent restoration as it housed one of the most notorious Bourbon jails. After a devastating flood in 1853, Pescara was liberated by Giuseppe Garibaldi's collaborator Clemente De Caesaris in 1860. Seven years later the fortress was dismantled.

In the following years, Pescara was merged with the adjacent town of Castellammare degli Abruzzi and eventually became the largest city of its region. The new city received a hard blow^[3] during World War II and has since been massively rebuilt, becoming a very modern coastal city of Italy.

Main sights[link]

Gabriele D'Annunzio's birthplace house.

Pescara Cathedral.

The historic center, built within the Spanish walls, hosts the birthplace house of Gabriele D'Annunzio, where the famous Italian poet was born in 1863. The house was refurbished in the 1930s, and is now open to the public. The Cathedral of St. Cetteus, built between 1933 and 1938, houses a 17th century painting of Saint Francis, attributed to Guercino. The 'Madonna dei Sette Dolori' Basilica (dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows) is a sanctuary build in 17th century on the place of several Marian apparitions. The Palazzo di Città, built in typical Fascist style and inaugurated in 1936, is the City Hall. The Palazzo del Governo hosts the provincial library, with over 600,000 volumes. Pescara also houses the Museum of the Abruzzi people^[4]: the institution traces, towards 13 halls dedicated to the aspects of life, traditions and economy, 4,000 years of history of the Abruzzo people.

Economy and culture[link]

Fater S.p.a. headquarters.

Pescara is the major city of its Abruzzo region, and is one of the most important economic, commercial, and tourist centers on the Adriatic coast. Featuring a shoreline that extends for more than 20 kilometers, Pescara is a popular seaside resort on the Adriatic Coast during summer. Situated in the sea at a short distance from the waterline there are many breakwaters made with large rocks, that were placed to preserve the shore from water-flood erosion.

Every July Pescara holds an International Jazz Festival: Pescara Jazz was the first Italian summer festival dedicated to jazz music. Since 1969, it has been one of the most important jazz festivals in Europe, as reported by the main dedicated international magazines.

Pescara was the birthplace of Gabriele D'Annunzio and Ennio Flaiano. Vittoria Colonna was the marchioness of Pescara.

University[link]

Pescara with Chieti, is the home of the G. d'Annunzio University and houses the school of medicine, architecture, economics, foreign languages and literature and science management for a total of about 31.257 students in the 2011 [1].

Transportation[link]

As regards public transport Pescara has a wide assortment of services, the city benefits from it a very favorable position with regard to roads.

Pescara railway station.

Motorways[link]

The city is crossed by two pan-European roads, autostrada A14 (Italy) Bologna - Taranto and autostrada A25 (Italy) Torano - Pescara.

Airport[link]

Pescara is served from an airport international called Abruzzo International Airport (Aeroporto di Pescara) that connects not only the city but also the entire region with many Italian and European destinations like Barcelona-Girona, Brussles-Charleroi, Frankfurt-Hahn, London-Stansted, Paris-Beauvais, Milano-Bergamo, Cagliari, Eindhoven, Oslo-Torp, Verona, Tirana, Toronto, and Milan.

Port[link]

Pescara also has a port: Port of Pescara. In the summer there are ferries and hydrofoils to Croatia run primarily by SNAV to Split and islands in central Dalmatia.

Rail[link]

The city also has a train station Pescara Centrale railway station which is the largest in Abruzzo and one of the largest in the whole of Europe, connecting it with the most important Italian cities like Rome, Milan, Turin, Bologna, Bari, Ancona, Trieste and many other cities. Other stations are less than those of Pescara Porta Nuova, Pescara Tribunale and Pescara San Marco.

Bus[link]

Pescara is served from several bus lines (operated by GTM, Gestioni Trasporti Metropolitani) and Arpa (Autolinee regionali pubbliche abruzzesi). There is a direct bus line to Roma Tiburtina (Rome) via Pescara Centrale (about a two and a half hour ride).

Trolleybus[link]

It is building a trolleybus line that will connect the city with its strategic points like Pescara Centrale railway station and the Abruzzo International Airport and other nearby cities.

Sports[link]

The city has a football team, Pescara Calcio 1936, which in June 2010 was promoted to Serie B. Pescara Calcio, and which played 30 tournaments in the cadet championship, has holdings in five Serie A, especially in the eighties-nineties years.

Pescara held the XVI Mediterranean Games in 2009, having defeated Rijeka, Croatia and Patras, Greece for the privilege.

Between 1924 and 1961, Pescara hosted the Coppa Acerbo automobile race, which in 1957 formed the penultimate round of the Formula One World Championship.

People born in Pescara[link]

• Giada Colagrande, actress and movie director.
• Gabriele D'Annunzio, poet, novelist and politician.
• Giovanni De Benedictis, retired race walker.
• Ennio Flaiano, screenwriter, novelist, journalist.
• Floria Sigismondi, Canadian photographer and director.
• Jarno Trulli, Formula One driver, currently racing for Lotus F1 Racing.
• Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, opera singer.
• Vitantonio Liuzzi, F1 driver
• Maria Pellegrini, opera singer living in Canada.

Twin towns[link]

Pescara is a sister city with:

• Arcachon, France
• Miami Beach, United States
• Lima, Peru
• Split, Croatia
• Casale Monferrato, Italy

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pescara

External links[link]

• Official website
• Pescara Airport
• Università D'Annunzio
• www.pescarart.net