Pacentro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pacentro | |
|---|---|
 Municipal coat of arms |
|
| Country |  Italy |
| Region | Abruzzo |
| Province | L'Aquila (AQ) |
| Mayor | Fernando Caparso |
| Elevation | 650 m (2,133 ft) |
| Area | 71 km² (27 sq mi) |
| Population (as of December 2001) | |
| - Total | 1,279 |
| - Density | 18/km² (47/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET, UTC+1 |
| Coordinates | |
| Gentilic | Pacentrani |
| Dialing code | 0864 |
| Postal code | 67030 |
| Frazioni | Passo San Leonardo |
| Patron | San Marco, Madonna della Misericordia |
| - Day | April 25, May 8 |
Pacentro is a comune of 1279 inhabitants of the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy. It is a quaint medieval village located in the central part of Italy, several kilometers from the elegant City of Sulmona about 170km east of Rome. Pacentro has recently been nominated as one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia" (the most beautiful villages in Italy).
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[edit] Geography, history, and architecture
[edit] Geographic location
Pacentro lies in the Apennine Mountain Range on a plateau below Mount Morrone and just above the Peligna Valley and the City of Sulmona. It is part of the Majella National Park (Parco Nazionale della Majella). The town is renowned for its fresh clean mountain water that comes from the snow of the Majella.
[edit] History
The village has documented origins back to the 9th or 10th Century, but the area was known as a mountain retreat since Roman times. Nearby Sulmona was the home of the famous Roman poet Ovid. Pacentro is one of several towns in the area with a medieval castle due to its position at the entrance of the strategic San Leonardo mountain pass to Pescara. The castle dates from the 14th Century and was built by the Cantelmo lords. It is partially ruined but is still remarkably preserved with three of the four towers mostly intact. The castle was sold by the Cipriani-Avolio family to the town government in 1957. It is now being restored and will be opened as a tourist attraction. Through its history, the town was successively in the feudal domain of the Caldora's, Orsini's, the Baron De Sanctis, the Colonna's, Princes Barberini, and lastly the Marchese Recupito di Raiano. The local nobility and gentry such as the powerful Rossi family controlled most local affairs while their masters generally remained in Rome or Naples.
Pacentro was also known in history for its fine craftsmen and artisans. It was home to fine silk weavers, stone masons, cabinet makers, carpenters, tailors, potters, and artists. A few of these skills still survive in the town today.
[edit] 20th Century history
The town reached its peak of growth and prosperity just prior to World War I. Not more than 20 years later, this area of Abruzzo was directly affected by some of the most severe fighting in World War II. On the other side of the Maiella mountains from Pacentro, was the famous German Gustav Line. Many of the towns near the German defenses were bombed or destroyed, but Pacentro's geographic position of being tucked into a mountain pass preserved it from aerial bombardment. After the Italian Government's surrender in September 1943, Nazi armies marched south to occupy most of Italy. The German Wehrmacht occupied the town for the next few weeks. Allied raids induced the Germans to evacuate he population of the whole town just before Christmas 1943. Thousands of the town's inhabitants were evicted from their homes and forced to endure significant hardships. This event was known as the sfollamento. The only major structural loss from the war was the destruction of the historic Mulino or town mill by the retreating German troops. When the Pacentrani returned however, they found their crops ruined, animals slaughtered and personal property stolen. Pacentro was finally liberated by British Troops and Italian Partisans on 9 June 1944. After the war, many of the men had to emigrate to other parts of Italy, the United States, South America or Australia to find work. This eventually led to the severe depopulation of the town by the 1970's.
[edit] Architecture
Pacentro is a remarkably well preserved Italian hill town that features some excellent examples of medieval, renaissance, and baroque architecture. The main church of Santa Maria della Misericordia dates from the 16th Century and contains great works of religious art, statuary, and stucco. The church has the second tallest bell tower in the area and is visible for miles. The church is the sanctuary of the relics of San Crescenzo, a Roman Legionary who converted to Christianity. It has a wonderful baroque carved wood pulpit and side altars commissioned by the local nobility. It is remarkably large and well ornamented for a village of this size. Other churches include the 12th Century San Marcello Church, The 18th Century Church of the Madonna di Loreto, the small Church of San Marco Evangelista (originally the Rossi Family Chapel of the Madonna dei Sette Dolori)and the fantastic 16th Century Convent Church of SS. Concezione. The convent church contains a rare painting of the Immaculate Conception by the famous Flemish artist Bartholomeus Spranger, finely carved choir stalls and the side altars and crypts of the Di Lorenzo, Lucci and Granata families of Pacentro. For more details on the churches of Pacentro see the parish website: Parrocchia di S. Maria della Misercordia
The town also contains many fine 16th-19th Century palaces and houses. These include the Palazzi Cipriani-Avolio, Giacchesio, Cercone, Lisio, Massa, Trasmondi-Abate, Simone, Pitassi (now Ristorante Taverna Caldora)and Borsilli. The town has two main squares: Piazza del Popolo by the Main Church with its fine 17th Century fountain and Piazza Umberto I (also known as Piazza Jaringhi) with its historic houses.
[edit] Festas, holy days, and special events
The feast of San Marco Evangelista, the original town patron saint, is on April 25th.
Corpus Christi (or Corpus Domini) falls a month or so after Easter and features a magnificent procession with several altars erected throughout the village
In July is the "Festa del Ritorno", an event organized by the "Cooperativa Agricola Rivera Pacentro" in honor of the people who emigrated in the past century from this town.
In August is the Rievocazione Storica, a medieval festival celebrating the times of the Caldora lords featuring medieval costumes and parades at the castle.
The Festa of the Madonna di Loreto is the first Sunday in September and is very popular with a procession and an exciting barefoot race (Corsa degli Zingari) from the Mountains to the Church.
In October is the feast of the Madonna of the SS. Rosario (Most Holy Rosary) and in November is the Feast of San Carlo Borromeo with a procession and the inflating of a giant hot air balloon in the Piazza Jaringhi.
The town has several ancient religious organizations known as Confraternities. There are four still in existence: San Carlo, SS. Rosario, Madonna di Loreto and Santa Croce. The Confraternities are each responsible, along with the Pastor, for the coordination of the various festas.
[edit] Restaurants and hotels
There are several fine restaurants in town including the "Taverna de li Caldora" in the Palazzo Pitassi, Ristorante Zio Carlo, Ristorante Furnacella and Bar De Martinis. In the Passo San Leonardo, a ski resort above Pacentro, is another fine restaurant named Celidonio. Several of the restaurants mentioned also have rooms available for visitors. There are also rooms in other private houses for rent. There are some larger hotels in the nearby city of Sulmona.
[edit] Population, emigration, and family history
The population peaked in 1911 with over 4000 inhabitants. Today with the population just under 1300, most of the population emigrated after World War II. Many went to the United States, Latin America and Australia. There are many clubs and cultural associations for Pacentrani and their descendants around the world. The Associazione Culturale Pacentrana is based in Pacentro and publishes a monthly magazine named "Un Mese in Pacentro" that features cultural and historical articles about Pacentro as well as current events and photos of Pacentrani around the world. Subscriptions can be obtained by clicking on the previous link. The magazine is sent all over the world. You can read some articles from "Un Mese in Pacentro" online on the Pacentro Weblog In Detroit, Michigan there is the Club Pacentro of Detroit. There are similar clubs in Youngstown, OH, Paterson, NJ and other cities.
Pacentro is also known for being the village of origin of the father of the entertainer Madonna.
For a list of common surnames from the Comune of Pacentro today and in 1755 see the Abruzzo 2000 website For surnames of people who have emigrated from Pacentro see the Avitrees website
[edit] Municipal contact information
Mayor: Fernando Caparso
Address: Municipio, Via S. Maria Maggiore,
67030 Pacentro (AQ), Italy
Email: comune.pacentro@tin.it
