Chieti

Chieti
Comune
Città di Chieti
Panorama of Chieti
Flag Coat of arms
Chieti Location of Chieti in Italy
Coordinates: 42°21′N 14°10′E / 42.350°N 14.167°E / 42.350; 14.167Coordinates: 42°21′N 14°10′E / 42.350°N 14.167°E / 42.350; 14.167
Country	Italy
Region	Abruzzo
Province / Metropolitan city	Chieti (CH)
Frazioni	Bascelli, Brecciarola, Buonconsiglio-Fontanella, Carabba, Cerratina, Chieti Scalo, Colle dell'ara, Colle Marcone, Crocifisso, De Laurentis Vallelunga, Filippone, Fonte Cruciani, Iachini, La Torre, Madonna del Freddo, Madonna della Vittoria, Madonna delle Piane, San Martino, San Salvatore, Santa Filomena, Selvaiezzi, Tricalle, Vacrone Cascini, Vacrone Colle San Paolo, Vacrone Villa Cisterna, Vallepara, Villa Obletter, Villa Reale
Government
• Mayor	Umberto Di Primio (PDL)
Area
• Total	58.55 km2 (22.61 sq mi)
Elevation	330 m (1,080 ft)
Population (November 2017)[1]
• Total	7.1348
• Density	0.12/km2 (0.32/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Teatini
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	66100
Dialing code	0871
Patron saint	St. Justin of Chieti
Saint day	May 11
Website	Official website

Chieti (Italian: [ˈkjeːti]; Neapolitan: Chiete; Greek: Θεάτη, Theati; Latin: Theate, Teate) is a city and comune in Southern Italy, 200 kilometres (124 miles) east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. Chieti lies on a crest along the Pescara River a few kilometres away from the Adriatic Sea, and with the Maiella and Gran Sasso mountains in the background.

In Italian, the adjectival form is teatino and inhabitants of Chieti are called teatini. The English form of this name is preserved in that of the Theatines, a Catholic religious order.

History

Tribunal Palace

Chieti is amongst the most ancient of Italian cities. According to mythological legends, the city was founded in 1181 B.C. by the Homeric Greek hero Achilles and was named in honor of his mother, Thetis. It was called Theate (Greek: Θεάτη) (or Teate in Latin). As Theate Marrucinorum, Chieti was the chief town of the warlike Marrucini. According to Strabo, it was founded by the Arcadians as Thegeate (Θηγεάτη).

After the Marrucini were defeated by the Romans, they became loyal allies of the more powerful forces. Their territory was placed under Roman municipal jurisdiction after the Social War. In imperial times, Chieti's population reached 60,000 inhabitants but, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it was destroyed by Visigoths and Heruli. Later it was seat of a gastaldate under the Lombard kings. After its destruction by Peppin, it became a fief of the Duchy of Benevento.

Chieti recovered some political and economic importance under the Norman rule of Southern Italy, a role it kept also under the Hohenstaufen, Angevine and Aragonese rulers. After a cultural and architectural flourishing during the 17th century, under the aegis of the Counter-Reformation, Chieti was decimated by fatalities from plague in 1656. In the 18th century, several new academies and schools were developed here, which contributed to the city's artistic heritage. In 1806 Chieti was turned into a fortress by Napoleon's France. In 1860 it became part of the newly created Kingdom of Italy.

During World War II, Chieti was declared an open city (like Rome) and was not bombed by either side. It was the site of an infamous POW Camp for British and Commonwealth officers (PG 21) where its commandante – Barela – was later convicted of war crimes for his treatment of POWs.^[2] The city at this time welcomed many refugees from the near towns and villages. Allied forces liberated the city on June 9, 1944, one day after the Germans left the city.

Geography

Architecture

Chieti Cathedral

Roman temples of Chieti

• The cathedral dedicated to Saint Justin of Chieti was probably founded in the 8th century and, according to tradition, was re-builth by bishop Teodorico I after the sack by Pepin the Short in 840. It was again re-built by bishop Attone I in 1069^[3][4], but of that building only parts of the Romanesque crypt remain. The church was beautified in the 14th and 15th centuries thanks to different bishops. The first three floors of the bell tower were erected in 1335 by Bartolomeo di Giacomo and in 1498 Antonio da Lodi built its bellcote and tented roof. The church was decorated again in the 17th century in the Baroque style. The 1703 Apennine earthquakes detroyed the tented roof of the bell tower and damaged the church, whose aspect was changed by the archbishop Francesco Brancia between 1764 and 1770. In the early 20th century the architect Antonio Cirilli consolidated the bell tower and extensively modified the exterior. The crypt hosts the relics of Saint Justin of Chieti.^[3][4][5]
• Close to the cathedral there is the Baroque oratory of the Mount of the Dead Brotherhood, the oldest catholic fraternity of Chieti that was officially acknowledged by Pope Innocent X in 1648.^[6]
• The Church of Saint Francis was founded in 1239.^[7] The façade shows an incomplete Baroque restoration.
• The Baroque Church of Saint Clare was built for the nuns of the Order of Saint Clare between 1644 and 1720.^[8]
• The Teatro Marrucino (Italian for "Marrucinian Theatre") was built between 1813 and 1818 in the Neoclassical style and in 1872 the Neapolitan artist Giovanni Ponticelli painted the front curtain, rapresenting the triumph over Dalmatae of Gaius Asinius Pollio. ^[9]
• There are different Roman sites in Chieti, including three temples, a theatre, an amphitheatre, thermae, underground cisterns and the so-called via tecta, an underground street.^[10][11][12] Under the church of SS. Pietro e Paolo and the adjoining houses are extensive substructures (in opus reticulatum and brickwork) of the 1st century CE, belonging to a building erected by M. Vectius Marcellus^[13] and Helvidia Priscilla.

Climate

Chieti climate is considered genuine Mediterranean. It presents high humidity all year round, with rainy/snowy warm winters and hot and dry summers. Rain is a common event, especially during fall and spring, with accumulations of around 600 to 700 millimetres (24 to 28 in) a year. Snowfall is consistent during winter, with temperatures that often drop below 0 °C (32 °F) during winter nights. Fog is a common event during fall and winter, due to very high humidity in these seasons. Wind from the north-east (from the Adriatic sea) carries cold from Eurasian Steppe, while wind from south-west (from the Tyrrhenian Sea) carries hot from Algerian Desert. Wind is quite present during year.

Education

The University of Chieti (Università G. d'Annunzio – Chieti e Pescara) is based in Chieti and Pescara and hosts about 35,000 students, covering areas of Architecture, Arts and Philosophy, Economics, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Management, Medicine, Pharmacy, Psychology, Sciences, Social Sciences and Sports Medicine.

Culture

Hooded men joining the Good Friday procession

According to some historians, the Good Friday procession, which is considered the Italy's oldest religious procession, has taken place in Chieti until 842. From historical documented sources, the origins of its current form date back to the 16th century. It is organized by the Mount of the Dead Brotherhood, an old local fraternity, with different sacred symbols, such as a wooden figure of Christ and a mourning Virgin Mary. Hooded adults and children, a choir and an orchestra playing Miserere by Saverio Selecchy (a local composer of the 18th century) takes part in the event.^[15][16][17]

Museums

Warrior of Capestrano in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo

• The National Archaeological Museum of Abruzzo is surrounded by an urban park and is located in the former 19th-century Neoclassical residence of the Frigerj family. The rooms of the museum, which hosts the ancient Warrior of Capestrano, are dedicated to: Italic sculpture, Roman sculpture, a numismatic collection, a collection of antiquities created by Giovanni Pansa, the Vestini, the Peligni, the Marrucini and the Carricini.^[18][19]
• The Archaeological Museum La Civitella is close to the Roman amphitheatre and is focused on the Marrucini and the ancient history of Chieti.^[20]
• The University Museum of History of Biomedical Sciences is managed by the University of Chieti-Pescara and exposes prehistoric finds, rocks, minerals, a malacological collection, medical devices of the early 20th century and a collection of contemporary art. The museum is located in the former local house of the Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro, an example of fascist architecture.^[21]
• The art museum dedicated to Costantino Barbella is located in an 18th-century palace and houses frescoes, sculptures, paintings, and pottery from the 15th to the 20th centuries, including a collection of Maiolica from Castelli.^[22]
• The Museo Diocesano Teatino (Italian for "Diocesan Museum of Chieti") is located in the 17th-century Church of Saint Dominic and hosts frescoes from the 14th to the 16th century, wooden statues and paintings.^[23]

Notable people

• Herius Asinius - Commander of the Marrucini
• Gaius Asinius Pollio (75 BC / AD 4) – Roman soldier, politician, orator, poet, playwright, literary critic and historian
• Saint Justin of Chieti
• Severino Di Giovanni – Anarchist who exiled himself to Argentina in 1922
• Ferdinando Galiani – Economist
• Sergio Marchionne – CEO of Ferrari and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
• Alessandro Valignano – Jesuit missionary who helped the introduction of Catholicism to the Far East
• Pierluigi Zappacosta – Co-founder of Logitech, Venture Partner with Noventi, President/CEO of Sierra Sciences
• Luciano Odorisio – Actor, movie director
• Costantino Barbella - Sculptor

See also

• Chieti railway station
• Trolleybuses in Chieti
• Gens Asinia

References

Sources

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chieti". Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 132. 

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Chieti.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chieti.

• Site of National Museum Archaeological of Abruzzi Villa Frigerii
• Official site of Biomedical Museum
• Official site of Archaeological Museum "La Civitella"
• Official site of Art Museum "Costantino Barbella"
• Italy's most important Easter Procession in Chieti
• Photo Gallery (in Italian)