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Theme Week Abruzzo – Lanciano

Thursday, 25 September 2014 - 01:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union
Category/Kategorie: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post Lanciano is a town and comune in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It has 36,000 inhabitants. The city is also known for the first recorded alleged Catholic Eucharistic Miracle. The city is located on hills and its town territory covers 66 square kilometres (25 sq mi) from Val di Sangro to Castelfrentano, and its elevation is about 265 metres (869 ft) above sea level.

The ancient Roman name of Lanciano was Anxanum, a city of the Frentani Italic tribe. The city is said to have been founded in 1181 BC by Solimus, a Trojan refugee arrived in Italy along with Aeneas. Legends aside, archaeological findings have shown that the area was settled from the 5th millennium BC. According to tradition, Lanciano is also the birthplace of Longinus the Roman centurion who thrust his spear into Jesus‘ side during the Crucifixion: Lanciano in Italian means “of the Spear”.

Among the sights are:

• Cathedral of Santa Maria del Ponte (“St. Mary of the Bridge”), so called because it is built on bridgework along a precipice: is the work of Michitelli (1619) and has some paintings by Pozzulaniello (Giacinto Diana). It houses also an 8th-century Byzantine statue portraying the Madonna, probably brought here during the iconoclast controversy.
• Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the most important architectural sites in Abruzzo. Built in 1227 according to Bourgogne-Cistercian lines, it was updated in 1540 in Baroque style, with the addition of two aisles and stucco decorations (recently stripped off). The main gate is from 1317.
• Chiesa di San Francesco (1258), built over a pre-existing 7th-century church. The high altar houses the relics of the Eucharistic Miracle.
• Chiesa di Sant’Agostino (1270). The façade has maintained the original rose window and the gate, while the single nave interior is a Baroque restoration.
• Chiesa di San Biagio (11th century) is the oldest church of the city. It has a bell tower and it’s always opened on 3 February for the anointing of the throat, a Catholic rite linked to the cult Saint Biagio.
• Torri Montanare, a relic of the ancient walls (11th century). They consist in two massive towers, the most recent dating to the 15th century, offering a panoramic view of the area.
• Porta San Biagio (11th century), the only one gate remaining of the nine once existing.
• Torre civica (19th century), was built over a pre-existing tower next to the Cathedral. Nowadays it is a belfry and a clock tower.
• Torre Aragonese, (15th century) was a tower along the ancient walls.
• Palazzo dell’Arcivescovado, (16th century) is still the seat of the archbishop and houses a diocesan Museum.
• Botteghe medievali, was a house built in 1434. It has two floors and on the ground floor there are antique shops, with external bank according to the Roman use.

Here you can find the complete Overview of all Theme Weeks.

Read more on Municipality of Lanciano, Lanciano.it and Wikipedia Lanciano. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.


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