The to

wn of Orto

na

History,

Monuments

and…

Ortona

Or tona is an ancient maritime centre, a l ively seaside resor t and a commercial por t.

It is 72m high and its population is about 23.600 people.

History

Ortona declined in the Early Middle Ages and reflourished during the Swavian domination. In 1566 it was burnt down by the Turks and passed into the hand of Margaret of Austria, then to the Farnesi and the Bourbons. In December 1943, it was the site of a violent battle and suf fered serious damages.

The Feast of Pardon is held on 1st May each year with an historical procession.

Facing the sea is the Passeggiata Orientale , a promenade wich dominates the port which is about 70m below.

It offers an ample view over the sea and the port.

The Farnese Palace

The Farnese Palace was the residence of the duchess Margareth of Austria but she never l ived there because she died before her residence was f inished. It was in a small square called Carbonaro situated in the centre of the town which had a beautiful view of the sea.

The design of the palace was commissioned to Giacomo Della Porta, one of the most highly renowed architects in Rome.Each side of the building had 11 windows. At present only one third of the imposing palace is left. The whole eastern threshing-floor was destroyed. At present the Farnese Palace houses the Municipal Library, the Cascella Art Gallery and a museum.

The Aragonese Castle

The Aragonese Castle is a defensive building erected between 1450 and 1470 af ter the Venetians.During one of their incursions, the Venetians destroyed the ancient por t (The Scalo) and the sea district with stores and arsenals reaching the town walls.Spanish military architects rebuilt and changed the for tress af ter the second half of the sixteenth century; it was later under Royal State proper ty.

Since 1795 the aragonese castle has been even in perpetual emphyteusis to dif ferent famil ies from Or tona . During the Second World War the castle suf fered heavy bombardments .

At present this building is only par tly municipal proper ty but a recent deliberation of the municipal assembly is aiming at making it a complete municipal patrimony.

St. Catherine’s Church

The curch of St. Catherine in Or tona was buil t in the XVII century, in the Baroque period. During the second world war, the church, suf fered bombardments but nowadays it is sti l l intact. On the wal ls there are some paintings by G.B. Spinell i . On the side there is a terrace reserved to the nuns to fol low the rel igious celebrations.

St. Thomas Cathedral

St. Thomas Cathedral was buil t in 1258. The church houses st. Thomas Apostle’s rel ics. I t was reconstructed af ter the Second World War but the façade sti l l presents a Gothic por tal , wich was recomposed from fragments. On the altar there is a ciborium containing a silver bust enclosing the saint’s skull wich is only displayed on the f irst Sunday in May.

The Canadian Cemetery

On 3 September 1943 the All ies invaded the Italian mainland, the invasion coinciding with an armistice made with the Italians who then re-entered the war on the All ied side. All ied objectives were to draw German troops from the Russian front and more par ticularly from France, where an of fensive was planned for the fol lowing year.

Progress through southern Italy was rapid despite stif f resistance, but by the end of October, the All ies were facing the German winter defensive posit ion. The 1st Canadian Division went on to cross the Moro river on 6 December against stif f opposition, and to take Or tona on the 28th, af ter a week of bitter street f ighting. The site of the cemetery was chosen by the Canadian Corps in January 1944. It contains the graves of those who died during that f ighting at Moro r iver and Ortona, and during the weeks that preceded and followed it . In December 1943 alone, the 1st Canadian Division suf fered over 500 fatal battle casualt ies.

War Musem

To remember this battle, the Museo del la Battaglia was founded in 2002.The museum has three rooms.The f irst room, cal led "Hal l of civi l ians," has lots of photos, test imonies of that period. A plastic model shows what happened in the center of Or tona. A big picture shows the destruction of the Cathedral of St. Thomas, the patron saint of the town.The second room is the one of the protagonists of the battle, the "Hall of combatants," both veterans and civi l ians have contr ibuted to it . Some maps at the back of a second plast ic model explain the mil itary tactics used during the battle.The third room, with pictures and stories of war, shows another impor tant aspect , the use of propaganda. There are reproductions of various newspapers of the t ime, which show the dif ferent stages of the battle in Or tona.