Palena, Abruzzo
Palena is a "comune" and town in the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the hometown of Pietro Como and Lucia Travaglini, the parents of Italian-American baritone Perry Como (1912–2001). There is a plaque commemorating Perry Como as well as the home of painter Oreste Recchione, who also lived in Palena. The town lies within the border of Maiella National Park. History. Origins. Fossils have been found in the capo di Fiume, now on display in the municipal paleontological museum where it shows what the environment of the Maiella was like 7  million years ago. The municipal territory of Palena has already been inhabited since the time Paleolithic, as proof of this, some artifacts from this period have been found in the palena area. Later, in the period italico and Roman era, some districts of Palena, are inhabited as evidenced by some tombs and buildings of the time. The municipal capital dates back to early Middle Ages when the town is a fief of Gualtieri, Orsini, Antonio Caldora, Matteo di Capua and D'Aquino. Various Benedictine monks have inhabited the area. Early Middle Ages and the Lombards. The colonization of the Lombards took  place in the 9th century. They venerated the cult of St. Michael the Archangel and St. George, as they will found a chapel at the mountain cave of the same name of Sant'Angelo. The territory was part of the Diocese of Sulmona-Valva, at the extreme border with the diocese of Chieti. The territory in the 11th century was divided into various villas, i.e. groups of pastoral houses: Castello Alberico (the current center), Pizzo Superiore e Inferiore, Castelcieco, Forca di Palena, San Cristinziano and Sant'Egidio. All these districts already in the 15th century no longer existed due to earthquakes. In  930 the monk Giovanni da San Vincenzo al Volturno wrote in the "Chronicon Vulturnense" of the presence of the church of Santa Maria de Palena, together with a plot of land for the work of the population. At the same time in Palena he settled San Falco, where he died there and was soon venerated as a patron saint of the obsessives and the accidious. Late Middle Ages and the development of churches. Monasticism in Palena arose in the 12th century as evidenced by the bull of Pope Innocent II citing the church of San Vito in Furca, one of  the oldest. This, together with the one dedicated to San Falco, just above the river, were under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Valva (Corfinio). The churches then existing were of Sant'Antonio Abate, Santa Croce, San Cristinziano, San Cataldo, San Tommaso and San Giovanni. A special mention deserves the lost church of San Cristinziano (also known as San Cristiano or San Costantino): in 1065 the Counts of Sangro Borrello di Borrello and his son Borrello Infante donate it to Bishop Teatino Attone, then Lord of Chieti. Also in the 11th century was founded the Ducal Castle, by the Normans, on  the highest point of the spur above the river. Meanwhile, a local barony developed: Count Beamondo is mentioned in a bull of 1130 in which he restored the small hermit church of San Nicola di Coccia. In the "Catalogus Baronum" Palena is mentioned as a large fortified village on the border with the Territory of Sulmonese and Chieti, strategically located towards the Fork Pass, which held the power of the small rural centers of Lettopalena, Gessopalena, Montenerodomo, Lama dei Peligni and Taranta Peligna. Together with the Manors of Pacentro, the lords fortified the streets with watchtowers, hence the first example  of the medieval castle of Pacentro. Hermitage of Pietro da Morrone. In 1235 Friar Pietro da Morrone, aka Celestine V, went to hermitage on the Majella, at a cave on the Fork pass, on the border between Palena and Field of Jupiter. He had already been in the romitorio of St. Onofrio at Sulmona. A few years later on site, at the behest of Charles of Angiò a hermitage was built divided into a fortified building to house pilgrims, and a smaller one as a place of worship. Modern era and early 1900s. A testimony of 1587 tells of the  feast of the Palii San Falco, feast of January 13 to honor the patron, in which the faithful made a race on the pebbles of the mountain barefoot. In 1706 the center was damaged by the Majella earthquake with severe damage. In fact, the church of San Falco was demolished and rebuilt to accommodate more pilgrims. In 1915 Palena was connected by the line of the Sangritana Railway, with toll booth in an elevated position above the village, compared to the normal lower level station, for reasons of practicality. The toll booth connected it to Castel di Sangro. In 1933  a new earthquake damaged Palena and neighboring municipalities, forcing the podestà to tear down the castle's control towers, which were dangerous. The Second World War and current events. In November 1943 the country was joined by the Nazis, being along the path of the Gustav line. It was used as a prison camp, and was later bombed by the Allies. The symbol of the destruction was the church of San Falco, razed to the ground completely, except for the bell tower. The partisans of the "Maiella Brigade also contributed to the re-esasing of the Germans. In the years  of reconstruction, the church of San Falco was completed in 1953, in a modern-ancient key, and the center developed considerably further downstream, near Villa Sant'Antonio. Also in the 1950s a controversy arose about the demolition of the civic tower in front of the church of San Falco, considered dangerous. After the felling, a new turret was built at the castle. In the 1970s, to facilitate access, the so-called "Tagliata di Palena" was built, that is, the provincial road that runs along the Majella, coming from Lama. In 1992 the municipality was included in the Majella National Park Civil  and military architecture.