Top: port of Pescara and Gran Sasso d'Italia Centre: Palazzo Imperato; Fountain La Nave; and Church of the Sacred Heart Bottom: Palazzo di Città; and Aurum Museum
Flag
Coat of arms
Motto(s):
HÆC EST CIVITAS ATERNI PORTA APRUTII ET SERA REGNI(Latin) "This is the city of Aternum, gate of Abruzzi and border of the Kingdom"
Pescara (Italian:[pesˈkaːra]ⓘ;[3]Abruzzese:Pescàrë;Pescarese:Piscàrë) is the capital city of theprovince of Pescara, in theAbruzzoregion ofItaly. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023)[4] residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surrounding metropolitan area).[5] Located on theAdriatic coast at the mouth of theRiver Aterno-Pescara, the present-day municipality was formed in 1927 joining the municipalities of the old Pescara fortress, the part of the city to the south of the river, and Castellamare Adriatico, the part of the city to the north of the river. The surrounding area was formed into the province of Pescara.
The main commercial street of the city is Corso Umberto I, which runs between two squares, starting fromPiazza della Repubblica and reaching the seacoast inPiazza Primo Maggio. The rectangle that it forms with Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and Via Nicola Fabrizi is home of the main shopping district, enclosed in adriving restriction zone, where several of the best fashion shops are located. Corso Manthoné, 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 theD'Annunzio University campus to the south, a business district has grown up over the years, while theMarina is situated to the immediate south of the mouth of the river. Pescara is also served by an international airport, theAbruzzo Airport, and one of the major touristic ports ofAdriatic Sea and Italy, thePort of Pescara.
Pescara is situated at sea level on the Adriatic coast and has developed from some centuries 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 140 metres (150 yd) in the area around apineta (a small pine forest) 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 theNature Reserve Pineta Dannunziana.
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 metre, being at its highest in spring due to snow melting in the mountains inland.
The city is very close to the mountains, and the ski slopes of Passo Lanciano are a 30 minute drive away.
The city is set to expand on 1 January 2027, when neighboring towns of Montesilvano and Spoltore will be annexed into the city. The residents of the three towns voted in a referendum on the merger on 25 May 2014. 70.32% of Pescara voters approved the annexation, also 52.23% of Montesilvano and 51.15% of Spoltore voters.[6] The regional law approving the merger was passed by the regional council on 8 August 2018, with the merger to become law on 1 January 2022.[7] It was later delayed into 2023[8] and again into 2027.[9]
Pescara has ahumid subtropical climate (Cfa) withMediterranean influences. The city's climate is characterized by hot summers and cool winters. Since its driest month has 34 mm (1.3 inches) of precipitation, the city cannot be solely classified as Mediterranean. Not to mention, although there is a dry tendency in early summer, August (late summer) is as wet as the winter month of February, which is unusual for the Mediterranean pattern.[10][11]
The averagetemperature is around 7 °C (45 °F) in the coldest month (January) and 24.5 °C (76.1 °F) in the warmest month (July). The lowest temperature recorded in the city was −13 °C (9 °F) on 4 January 1979. The highest was registered on 30 August 2007 at 45 °C (113 °F).Precipitation is low (around 676 mm (26.6 in) per annum) and concentrated mainly in the late autumn.
Pescara is a coastal city, but its climate is influenced by the surrounding mountains (theMaiella and the chain ofGran Sasso). When the wind is southwesterly, Pescara experiences aFoehn wind that often reaches 100 km/h (62 mph), 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. Pescara experiences 35 days annually with minimum temperature below 0 °C (32 °F).[12]
Under northeasterly winds Pescara suffers precipitation which is generally weak, but can be much more intense if accompanied by adepression. Also from the north east comes winter weather fromSiberia 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 southwesterlyLibeccio is blowing. Particularly in summer, but also in winter, the high humidity leads to morning and evening mist or haze.
Pescara's origins precede theRoman conquest. It was founded to be the port ofVestini andMarrucinitribes to trade with the peoples of the Orient, a supporting role that was held for centuries. The name of both the town and the river wasAternum, it was connected to Rome through theVia Claudia Valeria and theVia Tiburtina. The main building was the temple ofJovis Aternium. The town was an important port for trade with theEastern provinces of the Empire.
In theMiddle Ages it was destroyed by theLombards (597).Saint Cetteus, the town's patron saint, was abishop of the 6th century, elected to the see ofAmiternum inSabina (today the city ofSan Vittorino) in 590, during the pontificate ofGregory the Great.[15] 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.[15]
In 1095 Pescara was a fishing village enriched with monuments and churches. In 1140Roger of Sicily conquered the town, giving rise to a period in which it was destroyed by armies ravaging theKingdom of Sicily. The name ofPiscaria ("abounding with fish") is mentioned for the first time in this period. Several seignors ruled over Pescara afterwards, includingRainaldo Orsini,Louis of Savoy, andFrancesco del Borgo, the vicar of kingLadislaus of Naples, who had the fortress and the tower built. The subsequent rulers were theD'Ávalos. In 1424 the famouscondottieroMuzio Attendolo died here. Another adventurer,Jacopo Caldora, conquered the town in 1435 and 1439. In the following years Pescara was repeatedly attacked by theVenetians, and later, as part of the SpanishKingdom of Naples, it was turned into a massivefortress.
In 1566 it was besieged by 105Turkgalleys. It resisted fiercely and theOttomans 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 Castellammare, a smallfrazione of the fortress. In 1707 it was attacked byAustrian troops under the command of theCount of Wallis: the town, led byGiovanni Girolamo II Acquaviva, resisted for two months before capitulating.
Government building, seat of the Province of Pescara
Pescara was always part of theKingdom of Naples, apart from the brief age of theRepublic of Naples of 1798–99. The town was therefore attacked by the pro-BourbonGiuseppe Pronio. In 1800 Pescara fell toFrench troops, becoming an important military stronghold ofJoseph Bonaparte's reign. Castellammare, which now had 3,000 inhabitants of its own, became a separate municipality.
In 1814, Pescara'sCarboneria revolted againstJoachim Murat. There, on 15 May 1815, the king undersigned one of the first constitutions of theItalianRisorgimento. In the following years Pescara became a symbol of theBourbon's violent restoration as it housed one of the most notorious Bourbon jails. After a devastating flood in 1853, Pescara was liberated byGiuseppe Garibaldi's collaboratorClemente De Caesaris in 1860. Seven years later the fortress was dismantled.
In the sixty following years Pescara was included in the Province ofChieti and then merged with the adjacent town of Castellammare Adriatico and eventually became the largest city of its region. The new city suffered heavy civilian casualties when it wasbombed by the Allies who were attempting to cut German supply lines duringWorld War II. It has since been massively rebuilt, becoming a very modern coastal city of Italy.
Gabriele D'Annunzio's birthplace housePescara CathedralAurum, built in 1910 in Art Nouveau style
The city is divided in two by the river in between.
The historic city center is located on the south shore, where once stood the Piazzaforte (fortified town), a military bulwark of theKingdom of the Two Sicilies. There is the Bagno Borbonico (the old prison of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, built starting in 1510 by order ofCharles V, which incorporated inside the remains of theNorman andByzantine city walls). Today it houses theMuseum of the Abruzzi people:[16] the institution traces, through 13 halls dedicated to aspects of life, traditions and economy, 4,000 years of history of theAbruzzo people.
On the north shore of the river there's Piazza Italia (Italy Square), overlooked by the City Hall and the Government Building (which houses the headquarters of theProvince of Pescara), both built during the Fascist era according to thefascist rationalist style and designed by the architect Vincenzo Pilotti. Pilotti designed the majority of the public buildings of the city, including the seat of the localChamber of Commerce, of theLiceo Classico "G. D'Annunzio" high school,[18] and the old seat of thecourt (which now houses a museum).[19]
In the far southern part of the city, between theNature Reserve Pineta Dannunziana and the beach, there is an elegantArt Nouveau villas district designed in 1912 by Antonino Liberi (an engineer brother-in-law of D'Annunzio). There is also the Aurum, first headquarters of a social club (called the Kursaal), then liquor factory, and today public multipurpose space.[20][21]
In 2007 was built the Ponte del Mare, the largest pedestrian and cycle bridge in Italy.
On the northern waterfront, close to theSalotto Square, the main square of the city, there is theNave (trad. the ship), a sculpture byPietro Cascella.
Pescara is the most populous city in theAbruzzo region, and is one of the top ten economic, commercial, and tourist centers on theAdriatic coast. Featuring a shoreline that extends for more than 20 km (12 mi), 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.
In the city there are the administrative headquarters ofDe Cecco company and the Fater S.p.a., an equal joint venture partner with the Angelini Group and Procter & Gamble.[22]
Every July Pescara holds an international jazz festival:Pescara Jazz was the first Italian summer festival dedicated tojazz music. Since 1969, it has been one of the most important jazz festivals inEurope, as reported by the main dedicated international magazines.
Every year (between June and July) the city also holds theFlaiano Prizes, one of Italy's International Film Festivals.
Pescara andChieti are the homes of theG. d'Annunzio University. Pescara is home to the Departments of Architecture, Economics, Business Administration, Quantitative Economics, Social and Legal Sciences, Modern Languages Literatures and Cultures, as Chieti, together with the Rector and Academic Senate, is home to the Departments of Medicine and Science of Aging, Experimental and Clinical Sciences, Neuroscience and Imaging, Oral Health Sciences and Biotechnology, Pharmacy, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Humanities Psychological Sciences, Engineering and Geology, for a total of about 31,257 students in the 2011[1].
Since 2009,RomeISIA has a subsidiary in Pescara, training students in the field ofindustrial design.
In the city center is located the headquarters ofICRANet, the International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Network, aninternational organization promoting research activities in relativistic astrophysics and related areas.
The city has a football team,Delfino Pescara 1936, which in June 2012 was promoted toSerie A, the highest league inItaly. Pescara Calcio, who have played 38 seasons in the cadet championship, have spent 7 previous seasons in Serie A, especially in the 1980s–90s.
Since 2011 the Italian edition of theIronman 70.3 takes place in the city of Pescara, chosen for the characteristics of the territory, for the possibility of building a competition that starts from the sea, continue towards the mountains and ends in the city center.[23]
Pescara is served from an international airport calledAbruzzo Airport (Aeroporto di Pescara) that connects the entire region with many Italian and European destinations like Barcelona-Girona, Brussels-Charleroi, Frankfurt-Hahn, Kraków, London-Stansted,Turin,Weeze, Milan Malpensa, Tirana, Bucarest, Palermo, Catania.
Pescara is served by thePort of Pescara for fishing, yachting, cargo docking and commercial passenger services. In the past, during summer season, ferries and hydrofoils toCroatia run primarily bySNAV used to connect the city toSplit and islands in centralDalmatia but the service has been temporarily suspended.
The city has fourrailway stations,Pescara Centrale railway station is the main and largest in Abruzzo, as well as one of the larger railway stations without train terminal in Italy, connecting with some of the major Italian cities likeRome,Milan,Turin,Bologna,Bari,Ancona,Trieste and many other cities. The other stations are Pescara Porta Nuova, Pescara Tribunale and Pescara San Marco.
Pescara is served from several bus lines (operated by TUA, Società unica abruzzese di trasporto). There is a direct bus line toRoma Tiburtina (Rome) via Pescara Centrale (about a two and a half hour ride).
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