Celano - Celano

Celano
Piccolomini Castle
Coat of arms
Celano - Coat of arms
StateItaly
RegionAbruzzo
TerritoryMarsica
Altitude860 m a.s.l.
Surface82.8 km²
Inhabitants11.019 (2015)
Name inhabitantsCelanesi
Prefix tel 39 0863
POSTAL CODE67043
Time zone UTC 1
PatronSS. Simplicio, Costanzo and Vittoriano
Position
Map of Italy
Reddot.svg
Celano
Tourism site
Institutional website

Celano is a city of Marsica, subregion ofAbruzzo.

To know

Second most populous center of Marsica and one of the largest in the province ofEagle and the mountain Abruzzo with its 11,000 inhabitants. Among the most industrious centers of the Fucino plain, it has been for centuries at the center of the historical and political events of the county of the same name. Celano is awarded the title of city by a decree of the President of the Republic of 1998.

Geographical notes

Celano is in a dominant position on the Fucino plain lying at the foot of Mount Tino (known as Serra di Celano) at an altitude of 860 meters above sea level. Part of its territory is included in the Sirente-Velino Regional Natural Park. La Serra, which overlooks the town with its 1923 meters of altitude, is included in the Sirente-Velino chain. The Celano Gorges fall within the municipal area, a rare example of a canyon in Italy. Celano is bordered to the north by Ovindoli, south with Trasacco, west with Avezzano, finally, to the east, with Aielli. The State Road 696 of the Sirente-Velino Regional Park connects the castle town with Ovindoli and the Rocche plateau.

When to go

The best time to visit Celano, its majestic castle, museums, squares and ancient churches is summer. Particularly popular is the festival in honor of the Holy Martyrs which attracts thousands of people to the town of the castle on 24, 25 and 26 of August every summer, many of whom return to Marsica from everywhere.

Background

The continuous presence of man dates back to the Paleolithic about 18,000 years ago as evidenced by the numerous discoveries made in the Fucense area. On the other hand, the necropolises brought to light in Paludi, where the prehistoric museum is located, date back to the Bronze Age. Celano was the seat of the important county that developed autonomously starting from the 11th century thanks to Roger II of Sicily. Rainaldo made it the largest county in the Marsican territory as early as 1045. Under the dominion of Leonello Acclozamora and Countess Jacovella, the last heir of the Counts of Celano, important works were completed: completion of the second floor of the keep and of the three imposing the towers of the Piccolomini castle and the construction of the fort corresponding to the contemporary church of San Francesco as well as numerous other artistic interventions in the Celanese churches. Finally, the famous Regio Tratturo Celano-Foggia was "regularized" by the Aragonese and one of the most popular pastoral routes of transhumance was strengthened, so much so that it became a cornerstone of the local economy in the fourteenth century. Celano later became a possession of the Peretti lords, then of the Savellis and, finally, of the Cesarini-Sforza dukes and of the successors, the Sforza-Cabrera-Bodavilla until 1806, the year of the abolition of feudalism. Important dates and events characterize its history. In 1878, the definitive drying up of Lake Fucino rapidly transformed the economy which had hitherto been linked to fishing activity and, in the mountain area, from pastoral care to a very flourishing agricultural reality. On January 13, 1915, the earthquake that struck the Marsica area caused considerable damage and about 650 victims. The town, like all the towns in the area, was painstakingly rebuilt. In December 1923, one of the most controversial episodes took place, the lynching of Celano. In the church of San Giovannni Battista a man stole the urns containing the supposed relics of the Saints Martyrs, Simplicio, Costanzo and Vittoriano, protectors of the town. Once identified and held in custody, the author of the sacrilegious theft was killed by some angry citizens for the sacrilegious insult. On April 30, 1950, another of the saddest episodes in Celanese history took place, the massacre. Piazza IV Novembre was the scene of a ferocious attack that saw two laborers killed during the demonstrations and protests for their right to work: Agostino Paris and Antonio Berardicurti. That repression, perpetrated against the movements that demanded greater rights and dignity for farmers, did not stop the peasant claims that favored, a few months later, the agricultural reform from which the institution of Maremma and Fucino was born on February 28, 1951, with the land expropriation made in advance against the Torlonia, owners of the Fucino land for 99 years starting from 1878, the year of the law that officially decreed its drying up. In 1954 a distinct Fucino body was established which finally reorganized the Fucense area into larger plots, marking a peak in agricultural production.Celano was touched, like most of the centers of Abruzzo and southern Italy, by the phenomenon of emigration in particular in the first and second postwar period. In fact, the Celanese community residing in Canada, particularly in the cities of Mississauga, Toronto is Vancouver, but also in Australia and in Argentina.

How to orient yourself


How to get

Celano seen from the A25 motorway
Celano-Ovindoli railway station

By plane

Italian traffic signs - verso bianco.svg

By car

It is related to Rome is Pescara through the A25 motorway and the toll booth of Aielli-Celano. While it is reachable fromthe Eagle is Teramo through the branch of the A25 motorway located at ToranoAnother important road artery is the Strada Statale 5 Via Tiburtina Valeria which connects Rome to Tivoli, Avezzano, Sulmona and Pescara.

On the train

The Celano-Ovindoli station is served by the connections that run along the Rome-Avezzano-Sulmona-Pescara railway and is the only railway station to serve an Abruzzo ski area, that of Ovindoli Mount Magnola.

The national network of Trenitalia manages the Rome-Avezzano-Sulmona-Pescara railway lines.

By bus

  • Italian traffic sign - bus stop svg Bus lines managed by TUA bus lines (the only Abruzzese transport company - ex Arpa) [1]


How to get around

By car

From the A25 Torano-Pescara motorway, take the exit for Aielli-Celano, located at the gates of the castle town. The state road 5 Via Tiburtina Valeria, starts in Rome, connects the capital with Tivoli, Avezzano, Sulmona and Pescara. Finally, the state road 696 dir Vestina which represents a short branch of the state road 696 of the Sirente-Velino Regional Park (road connection between the tourist resorts of Campo Felice, Rocca di Cambio, Rocca di Mezzo ed Ovindoli) which branches off from the town of Celano in the direction of Paterno, a hamlet of Avezzano, where there is the junction of the state road 5 Via Tiburtina Valeria.

What see

Marsica Sacred Art Museum
Santa Maria Valleverde Library and Museum
  • 1 Marsica Sacred Art Museum, Largo Cavalieri of Vittorio Veneto (Piccolomini Castle), ☎ 39 0863 793730, @. Established in 1992, it is housed in 9 rooms inside the Piccolomini castle in Celano. It has two sections, the one dedicated to the sacred art of Marsica with frescoes, paintings, architectural elements and objects of sacred art ranging from the sixth to the eighteenth century and the archaeological one that collects the numerous materials returned to light after the drying up of the Fucino lake that constitute the Torlonia collection. It consists of 184 objects and 344 bronze coins from the Roman era. The section dedicated to paintings houses numerous Madonnas with children from the 1200s in Byzantine style. Particular mention should be made of the 15th century paintings entitled "The virgin" and "Madonna di Cese", a fragment of the Madonna and Child from 1439 by the painter Andrea De Litio and "Crucifixion" by the school of the painter Vincenzo Foppa. 
  • 2 Santa Maria Valleverde Library and Museum, Via Santa Maria (Town center), ☎ 39 0863 7954206. Located on the upper floor of the convent of the church of Santa Maria Valleverde, the library presents the "Pietro Antonio Corsignani" collection and 1000 titles including precious tomes and volumes. The connected museum is rich in works of art and sacred works both relating to the Celanese convent and to the closed Abruzzese convents belonging to the same Franciscan order. The exhibition space houses, among other things, a sculpture by Carlo Canestrari, a wooden Madonna from the 1500s and the 15th century painting of the Virgin by Andrea De Litio. Then there are ancient embroideries of the noble coats of arms, the original bell dating back to the foundation of the convent and works donated by private collectors and those of Giulio Ricci, a well-known potter of the twentieth century. 
  • 3 Prehistoric Archaeological Museum Marshes, via Circonfucense, n. 135 (Paludi locality, between Paterno and Celano, not far from the SS 5 via Tiburtina Valeria), ☎ 39 0863 790357. Located in an exhibition structure located in the Fucino plain, the museum was built on the site of the discovery of a lake-dwelling settlement called "Paludi" (17th-10th century BC). In the exhibition spaces, prehistoric and protohistoric finds that have been unearthed in the Marsican and Abruzzese territory are preserved and exhibited. Neolithic finds and necropolis from the Iron Age and other finds dating back to the Stone Age are on permanent display. The museum is equipped with a multimedia section that allows you to retrace the profound territorial changes that occurred after the drying up of Lake Fucino 
  • 4 The Gorges, Mouth of Castelluccio (Mountain area located between Aielli and Celano), ☎ 39 0862 9166, fax: 39 0862 916018, @. The canyon, dug for about 4 kilometers by the La Foce stream, separates the Sirente massif from Mount Tino, also known as "Serra di Celano". In some points of the route the rocky walls about 200 meters high have bottlenecks of just 3 meters. A cove near the pine forest, almost at the end of the path, leads to the "Fonte degli degli d'amore", a small and suggestive waterfall. 


Events and parties

Source and monument of the Holy Martyrs


What to do


Shopping

  • 1 "Le Ginestre" shopping park, Via Tiburtina Valeria at km. 126. Large commercial area located in the lower part of the town. 


How to have fun


Where to eat

Average prices


Where stay

Average prices

  • 1 The Gorges, Via Sardellino, 2 (Sardellino district), ☎ 39 0863 711101, fax: 39 0863 711101, @. Hotel, restaurant. Refined structure surrounded by the park of the Celano Gorges. Ideal for ceremonies 
  • 2 Lory, Via Oreste Ranelletti, 279 (Town center), ☎ 39 0863 793656, @. Historic and elegant city hotel. It houses the Ferrante restaurant. 
  • 3 Paradise, Location Margine, 7 (Near the Aielli-Celano motorway exit), ☎ 39 0863 791774, @. Hotel, restaurant. 
  • 4 The Feud of the Pierleoni, Location Margine (Near the Aielli-Celano motorway exit), ☎ 39 339 8231194. Bed & Breakfast. 


Safety

  • 3 Giannantoni Pharmacy, Via Oreste Ranelletti, 20, ☎ 39 0863 791248. 


How to keep in touch

Post office

  • 4 Italian post, Piazza Regina Margherita 2, ☎ 39 0863 795532. 
  • 5 Italian post (Celano Post Office 1), via Muricelli 1, ☎ 39 0863 793312. 

Keep informed

  • Celano City - Official page of the municipality of Celano on Facebook.


Around

In the surroundings of Celano, there are towns, parks and valleys that are worth a visit. Among the most visited destinations are:



Other projects

  • Collaborate on WikipediaWikipedia contains an entry concerning Celano
  • Collaborate on CommonsCommons contains images or other files on Celano
  • Collaborate on WikiquoteWikiquote contains quotes from or about Celano
2-4 star.svgUsable : the article respects the characteristics of a draft but in addition it contains enough information to allow a short visit to the city. Use i correctly listing (the right type in the right sections).