Montesilvano

Montesilvano is an Abruzzo town of 55,000 inhabitants, in the province of Pescara. It is located north of Pescara with which it forms a single urban agglomeration. It is divided into Montesilvano hill, the old center where the remains of medieval buildings are still present and Montesilvano beach, the most populous and modern part. The history of the city dates back to Roman times, thanks to the famous district of Villa Carmine where there was a temple dedicated to Jupiter, on which the current church of the Virgin of Carmel was built in 1468. The area experienced a great splendor as there were some salt flats whose finished product was sent to Rome. The first news of settlements on the hill dates back to 1114, the Aragonese in the fifteenth century granted it to local and foreign lords. In 1500 it became part of the Spanish domains and then in 1815 it went to the Bourbons. Being small and economically backward, it was merged with the neighboring municipality. Then thanks to the first settlements in the marine part and above all thanks to the opening of the railway station in 1863, it developed quickly, so much so that it regained administrative autonomy in 1904; immediately afterwards the town hall moved from the hill to the marina. Totally devastated during the Second World War, it flourished completely rebuilt, in its current appearance. Today Montesilvano develops for the most part on the Adriatic, orienting itself vigorously towards tourism thanks to excellent accommodation activities. Commerce, craftsmanship and industry occupy a second floor space. Tourism is its driving force that has allowed it to explode demographically and urbanistically.