Orsogna - Orsogna

Orsogna is a city ofAbruzzo.

To know

Background

"Orsogna" seems to derive from the archaic name of one of its districts located in the Valle del Moro near the town, the contrada Rissogna, namely today's Contrada FraiaAccording to legend, bears lived near the town, as the coat of arms attests.

In ancient times the Abruzzo town was populated mainly by peasants, but there were also potters, who exploited the fact that the land surrounding the town is clayey. Today the caves of the artisans are almost completely abandoned since the period of the two world wars, but in many caves there are remains of terracotta processing.

In 1881 earthquakes of considerable intensity struck Orsogna and also hit They launch, Castel Frentano, Guardiagrele, Ortona, San Vito, Francavilla and neighboring places. Orsogna will suffer extensive damage, with numerous deaths and injuries.

It recovered in the twentieth century but in 1943 it fell into Nazi hands after the armistice of Badoglio. The country was close to Ortona, head to sea of ​​the Gustav line, which ended in Cassino, and was a strategic outpost for retreat in the Val di Sangro, near the mountains.

After the allies arrived in December 1943 near the Moro river, hostilities began and the population was forced to take refuge under the medieval ramparts or in the countryside. The allies with the military campaign of the Moro, led by General Montgomery, broke through the enemy lines about 20 December and headed towards Ortona through the districts of San Donato and Leonardo, finally reaching the city. The fighting lasted until 27 with the destruction of the city and the consequent liberation. Winston Churchill remembered the battle of Ortona as the Stalingrad of Italy.

Orsogna was bombed immediately afterwards by the Nazis and the allies until June 1944. The church of San Rocco was completely obliterated and so was the massive baronial castle that occupied the square (today there is a post office and a palace). The parish church lost the attic and a dome (it had two), while the area of ​​the main street was definitively swept away. The fighting lasted furiously in the respective centers of Orsogna, Ortona, Tollo and Canosa Sannita until late at night on the 28th, subsequently they moved towards Giuliano Teatino, and the Franciscan convent was also damaged.

There were hundreds of displaced people who fled to Chieti, in the cathedral and a They launch or a Guardiagrele, which had not suffered extensive damage. At the end of the Second World War Orsogna turned out to be the Abruzzo center most damaged by bombing after Ortona and Gessopalena.

The reconstruction took place in the second half of '44 and the two main churches were initially restored.

How to orient yourself

Neighborhoods

Its municipal territory also includes the towns of Feuduccio, Ritiro, San Basile, Sterparo and Valli-Coste di Moro.

How to get

By plane

• Pescara airport (Abruzzo Airport), Via Tiburtina Km 229.100, ☎ 39 085 432 4201. The airport acts as a regional airport. 

By car

• Motorway A14 Adriatica exit of They launch

By bus

• Bus lines managed by ARPA - Abruzzesi regional public bus lines [1]

How to get around

What see

• Church of San Nicola. The facade is in Romanesque style in marble with a false string course frame; The interior has a single nave. on the marble altar a small shrine houses the statue of a saint. It is equipped with a valuable organ.

There is no other news before 8 June 1776, when a dispatch from King Ferdinand IV ordered its construction, which took place by the architects Pietro Paolo Francia from Pens and his son Agnello. Destroyed during the Second World War, it was rebuilt by the civil engineering while preserving the original structures. 

• Church of San Rocco. The facade is in a modern style (post-World War II), but in ancient times it was Gothic. Above the door there is a circular window in the shape of a porthole instead of the classic rose window. Inside, with a single nave, there is an interesting statue of San Rocco which is carried in a solemn procession every year on August 16.

The old church was completely rebuilt after being destroyed by bombing during the Second World War, based on a project by the architect Antonio Provenzano. Few memories of the previous construction remain, including the altar frontal by Modesto Parlatore still preserved in the De Meis Library in Chieti and a relic left after the earthquake of the winter of 1944. 

• Franciscan convent. The Convent of the Retreat of the Santissima Annunziata del Poggio, this is the official full name, is located two kilometers from the town, in a dominant position on a hill from which both the sea and the Maiella can be admired.

In the late Middle Ages San Giovanni da Capestrano he was struck by an oratory surrounded by nature. A church and an oratory were thus built in 1448. In 1450 a certain Ottaviano di Letto di Guardiagrele he donated his gardens to the convent with a land covered with woods, adjacent to the convent. : It was destroyed in World War II and rebuilt in 1969.

The current church corresponds to the primitive oratory, while the ossuary corresponds to a burial between one of the entrance doors of the convent and the adjoining church. The two cloisters, the corridors, the dormitories, the cells are small and symmetrical and have few frescoes: one located along the corridors of the first cloister representing the evangelical scenes, the second painted by P. Gaetano from L'Aquila.

The church is also small and simple with a walnut choir. In the convent complex there are also many statues representing the Madonna of Lourdes, San Francesco d'Assisi, the Madonna degli Angeli.

The crib

It is located in a small cell near the right side of the church. There are no certain dates as to when the first pieces of the nativity scene were placed, but it certainly dates back to before 1864 when the ceramic pieces by Filippo Tenaglia were dispersed; other pieces were by Ranieri di Guardiagrele. Among Ranieri's pieces it is worth noting a St. Francis in ecstasy at the melody of a lute, some paintings of which one depicts Jesus rehabilitating the Magdalene and another depicting Jesus intent in the "fractio panis". 

Sites of environmental interest

• Equipped territorial park of the Annunziata. It is a protected natural area ofAbruzzo; the park was established with regional law no. 23 of 04/06/1991 and occupies an area of ​​50 ha.

In the territory flows a tributary of the Venna torrent which, in turn, is a tributary of the river Foro. The stream forms various waterfalls with travertine concretions. In the area there were various springs that fed a complicated system of mills that are now abandoned but still partially visible.

The area is home to a rich variety of fauna: among the mammals the fox, the stone marten, perhaps even the porcupine; for birds: yellow wagtail, wren, long-tailed tit, blackbird, green woodpecker, buzzard. Among the crustaceans the river crab.

The flora is also very varied. 

Events and parties

• Feast of the Talami. Easter Monday. Theatrical representation of allegorical floats depicting scenes from the Bible. 
• Madonna of the Angels (to the Franciscan Convent). 1-2 August. 
• Extemporaneous and collective painting. in summer. 
• Talami night parade. August 15. 
• San Rocco. 16 and 17 August. 
• St. Nicholas of Bari. December 6. 
• Immaculate Conception. December 8. Evening fires 
• Exhibition of nativity scenes. Christmas time. 

What to do

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

Average prices

• Restaurant Santo's, via Ortonese 23, ☎ 39 0871 86634. 
• La Torre Restaurant, via San Francesco 56, ☎ 39 0871 869491. 
• La Funtanelle restaurant, via Chiusa 19, ☎ 39 0871 86178. 

Where stay

Average prices

• Altamira hotels (also restaurant), ☎ 39 0871 86521, fax: 39 0871 86645. 
• Le Mignole organic farm, Contrada Arenale, 8, ☎ 39 0871 869190. 

Safety

Pharmacies

• Nenna, piazza Mazzini 46, ☎ 39 0871 86126. 
• boulders, via Trento and Trieste 36, ☎ 39 0871 86335. 

How to keep in touch

Post office

• Italian post, piazza Mazzini 20, ☎ 39 0871 86246, fax: 39 0871 869991. 

Around

• Guardiagrele - It has an important historical center, with churches and buildings of great interest. It is famous for craftsmanship in metalworking. It is part of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
• They launch - City of ancient tradition, it was the capital of the Frentani and then a Roman municipality. It has an ancient nucleus of great interest, which comes alive on the occasion of the numerous historical re-enactments; famous are the Medieval Week with the '' Mastrogiurato '' and the sacred representations of Holy Week. It is a destination for pilgrimages following his Eucharistic miracle
• Casoli - The urban center, gathered around the ducal castle and the parish church, is perched on a hill to the right of the Aventino river, at the foot of the Majella.

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Orsogna
• Commons contains images or other files on Orsogna

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