UNICO

Castel di Sangro
PARTING SHOTS
Eternal battleground
by Nicola Orichuia
Few places have been fought over
as fiercely or for as long as the little hilltop
town of Castel di Sangro. Situated in
southern Abruzzo, just across the borders
of Lazio and Puglia, this village of
5,000 souls was the birthplace of the
mighty Aufidena tribe, which resisted
Roman dominance until 209 B.C. Emperor
Augustus liked the town so much
he ordered the construction of a forum
and arenas for games, making it a lively
center of activity.
During the Middle Ages, though,
the town was sacked numerous times by
Hun and Saracen tribes, until the di
Sangro family took over and built a
mighty fortress in 1050, right on top of a
monolithic stone base that had served as
a guardian tower for several centuries
before. Still, the fortress could not hold
off the troops of Cardinal Colonna, who
burned and destroyed the town’s center
in 1228, punishing Castel di Sangro’s inhabitants
for their loyalty to Holy
Roman Emperor Frederick II. A few
years later, Charles I of Naples drove the
message home with more sacking and
burning.
Castel di Sangro finally found peace
in the 1300s, when it became a flourishing
trade center with many artisans
working for the caravans that traveled
along the Via degli Abruzzi, the main
thoroughfare connecting the south and
north of Italy down the peninsula’s
mountainous spine.
The town’s last beating came during
World War II. On Nov. 7, 1943, German
troops occupied Castel di Sangro, razing
the town’s center and positioning it at
the heart of the Gustav line. The town
was pummeled for months, first by Allied
troops and then by the Nazis once
the Allies seized control. The town’s role
in the victory was recognized with the
Bronze Medal for Civil Merit for “having
resisted fearlessly against the bombings
and oppression of the enemy invader.”
74
September 2015
FRA NOI for ComUNICO