page_title: Abruzzo
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Abruzzo / History
caption_attribution_description: Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy
context_page_description: Abruzzo or Abruzzi is a region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Its western border lies 80 km east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the Gran Sasso d'Italia, and a coastal area in the east with beaches on the Adriatic Sea.
  Abruzzo is considered a region of Southern Italy in terms of its culture, language, history and economy, although geographically it may also be considered central. The Italian Statistical Authority also deems it to be part of Southern Italy, partly because of Abruzzo's historic association with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
  Abruzzo is known as "the greenest region in Europe" as almost half of its territory, the largest in Europe, is set aside as national parks and protected nature reserves. There are three national parks, one regional park, and 38 protected nature reserves.
context_section_description: Human settlements in Abruzzo have existed since at least the Neolithic times. A skeleton from Lama dei Peligni in the province of Chieti dates back to 6,540 BC under radiometric dating. The name Abruzzo appears to be derivative of the Latin word "Aprutium". In Roman times, the region was known as Picenum, Sabina et Samnium, Flaminia et Picenum, and Campania et Samnium. The region was known as Aprutium in the Middle Ages, arising from four possible sources: it is a combination of Praetutium, or rather of the name of the people Praetutii, applied to their chief city, Interamnia, the old Teramo.
  Many cities in Abruzzo date back to ancient times. Corfinio was known as Corfinium when it was the chief city of the Paeligni, and later was renamed Pentima by the Romans. Chieti is built on the site of the ancient city of Teate, Atri was known as Adria. Teramo, known variously in ancient times as Interamnia and Teramne, has Roman ruins which attract tourists.
  After the fall of the Roman Empire, a string of invasions and rulers dominated the region, including the Lombards, Byzantines, and Hungarians.  Between the 9th and 12th centuries, the region was dominated by the popes. Subsequently, the Normans took over, and Abruzzo became part of the Kingdom of Sicily, later the Kingdom of Naples. Spain ruled the kingdom from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The French Bourbon dynasty took over in 1815, establishing the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and ruled until Italian unification (also known as the Risorgimento) in 1860.
  Until 1963, Abruzzo was part of the combined Abruzzi e Molise region. The term Abruzzi  (plural of Abruzzo) derives from the time when the region was part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The territory was administered as Abruzzo Citeriore (nearer Abruzzo) and Abruzzo Ulteriore I and II (farther Abruzzo I and II) from Naples, the capital of the kingdom. Abruzzo Citeriore is now Chieti province. Teramo and Pescara provinces now comprise what was Abruzzo Ulteriore I. Abruzzo Ulteriore II is now the province of L'Aquila.
  In the twentieth century, war had a great impact on the region. During the Second World War, Abruzzo was on the Gustav Line, part of the German's Winter Line. One of the most brutal battles was the Battle of Ortona. Abruzzo was the location of two prisoner of war camps, Campo 21 in Chieti, and Campo 78 in Sulmona. The Sulmona camp also served as a POW camp in World War 1; much of the facility is still intact and attracts tourists interested in military history.
caption: The church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L'Aquila, as it was before the devastating earthquake of 6 April 2009.
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