Teramo, Abruzzo Region, Italy

🇮🇹 Teramo is a city and comune in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo. The city, 150 km from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines and the Adriatic coast. The town is located by the confluence of the Vezzola and Tordino rivers, on a hillside area where the terrain features along with the Mediterranean climate make the territory rich in vineyards and olive groves.

The economy of the town is mostly based on activities connected with agriculture and commerce, as well as a sound industrial sector: textiles, foods, engineering, building materials and ceramics. Teramo can be reached from the A14 and the A24 motorways.

History A settlement of the 1st millennium BC and some buildings of ancient Italic tribes were the object of archaeological excavations. The most ancient historical remains were found in the outskirts of the city, precisely in the neighborhood Madonna delle grazie, where, among many, a burial place with a dagger and a halberd were found. Allegedly, the development of the old settlement was due to the commercial centre founded by the Etruscan civilization.

According to the Roman author Sextus Julius Frontinus, the ancient Perut or Pretut (meaning "Hill surrounded by waters") strongly developed in dimensions and importance until it became the capital of the Praetutii tribe.

Roman age In the battle of Sentinum (295 BC), the Romans defied the Italian confederation (Sabellians, Etrusci, Umbri and their allies the Gauls), starting the Samnite Wars. In 290 BC the Sabine area, along with the Praetutii’s region was occupied by the legions sent by the consul Manius Curius Dentatus. The city took the Latin name of Interamnia Praetuttiorum ("City of the Praetutii between two rivers"). During the reign of Augustus Interamnia is included in the Picenum district. The area of the current province was divided from south to north into the Ager Hatrianus, Ager Praetutianus and Ager Palmense.

After the Second Social War Interamnia became a municipium. The city lost the status of Municipium because of the participation of Lucius Cornelius Sulla in the Social war (91–88 BC), but the city will subsequently regain it for expressed will of Julius Caesar.

During the Roman age, thanks to its nearness to the capital of the empire, the city lived a prosperous and favorable moment as proven by the numerous mosaics, theater, thermal baths and the amphitheater remains. As historians like Ptolemy, Livy and Pliny remember, the city reached its best period under the emperor Hadrian, with the constructions of the temples dedicated to Mars and Apollo.

History: Middle Ages Little is known about Teramo in the early Middle Ages, after first destruction of the city in the year 410 by the Visigoths under Alaric I. The Ostrogoths ruled Interamnia 552–554 AD. Right after the Gothic War (6th century), the city became a Byzantine possession. Teramo was included in the Marchia Firmana, part of the Exarchate of Ravenna. Later it was a Lombard fief and part of the Duchy of Spoleto.

In 1129 the city was conquered by the Normans, as part of the County of Apulia. In 1140 it became a possession of Roger II of Sicily, the first King of Sicily. During the strife following Roger's coronation, Teramo was destroyed by a Norman force under Robert II of Loritello. Only the tower of Piazza Sant’Anna was saved from this sack; from this moment on it will be called Torre Bruciata (burnt tower). In the 1268 the domination of the House of Hohenstaufen, who had inherited Sicily from Roger II's line, ended; they were replaced by the House of Anjou.

The ecclesiastical authority of the Aprutina Diocese, led by the bishops Rainaldo Acquaviva, Niccolò degli Arcioni (1317), Stefano da Teramo (1335) and Pietro di Valle (1366) boosted the city's economy, as witnessed by the construction of castles, churches, cloisters and palaces along with the great privileges granted by the sovereigns. Within the following two centuries Teramo became part of the Kingdom of Naples.

Renaissance and modern era The 15th century saw the struggles between the most important families of the city (De Valle and Melatino). The exemplary hanging of 13 followers of Melatino's family is still remembered in a stone shield in the very centre of the city. The monument represents two heads with their tongues out under the writing “A lo parlare agi mesura” (mind what you say).

During the first years of the century, the tyrant Antonello de Valle was assassinated; his castle, located in what is now Garibaldi Square, was demolished. The legend says that the belligerence between the families ended thanks to the women of the city who proclaimed a strike of affection. Despite the internal struggles, the city lived a very developed cultural period in the century. Artists like Jacobello del Fiore and Nicola da Guardiagrele were called to work in the city, which had commercial relationship with Tuscany and Venice.

After the death of Ferdinand II, Charles II of Spain sold Teramo to the Duke of Atri for 40,000 ducats. The people of Teramo rebelled, but with no result. In 1626 Teramo was struck by an earthquake, followed four years later by the plague. From 1707, after of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Habsburg monarchy rules the whole Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for 27 years. During the Age of Enlightenment Teramo is an active centre of intellectual life, especially with Melchiorre Delfico, a notable poet, composer and Italian philosopher. In 1798 French troops entered Teramo, and though they were initially repulsed by the citizens, they returned a few days later, sacking the whole city.

In 1806 Napoleon defeated the troops of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, and Teramo became a French possession until 1815, when it reverted to the Kingdom of Naples. King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies visited the city in 1832, 1844 and 1847. In 1890 the Observatory of Collurania was founded.

Contemporary age In 1925 the first Italian Psychoanalytic Society was founded in Teramo.

During World War II, on 25 June 1943 German troops arrived in Teramo and proceeded to Bosco Martese where they fought against the men of the Resistance movement. The episode is remembered as the "Battle of Bosco Martese".

In 1972 the first edition of Interamnia World Cup was held.

The University of Teramo was founded in the city in 1993.

Tourist Industry The city's main attractions include: • the Cathedral of Saint Berardo, built in 1158 by bishop Guido II, in Romanesque style. It has a portal in Gothic style, finished in 1332 by the Roman master Deodato di Cosma. It houses a silver antependium by Nicola of Guardiagrele (with 35 scenes of the life of Jesus) and a polyptych by the Venetian artist Jacobello del Fiore depicting the Incoronation of the Virgin. Annexed is a 50-metre-tall (164-foot) bell tower. • the Romanesque church of Sant'Antonio (1127), with a decorated portal. The interior, with a single nave, was renovated along Baroque lines. • the church of San Getulio, built in the early Middle Ages on the ruins of a Roman temple, finally destroyed in 1155 by the Normans. Only the presbyterium and some Romanesque elements of the original building remain today. • the church of San Domenico (14th century) with a fine Virgin with Child. • the sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie (also known as Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie). It has a Romanesque cloister and a 15th-century miraculous wooden statue of the Virgin, attributed to Silvestro dell'Aquila. • the Palazzo Vescovile ("Bishops Palace"), from the 14th century. • the remains of the Roman theatre (built about 30 BC) and of the amphitheatre (about 3rd–4th century AD). Under Palazzo Savini are remains of a Roman domus, including a 1st-century BC opus tessellatum pavement which depicts a fighting lion and other decorative elements. • the Torre Bruciata ("Burnt Tower"), a Roman tower from the 2nd century BC, in opus quadratum. The name derives from the traces left by the siege in 1156 by Robert III of Loritello. • Church of Santa Maria de Praediis (10th–11th centuries), built using materials from the destroyed castle and Roman villas and temples.

Culture An art exhibit, Maggio Festeggiante, is held each May. The summer calendar includes the Teramo Literary Prize and the Interamnia World Cup, an international handball event. A week in October is also dedicated to an international photography of film show.

University of Teramo The University of Teramo offers 5 faculties, 24 bachelor's degree courses, 35 master's, 6 postgraduate schools and 10 departments. The Coste Sant'Agostino Campus holds the faculties of Law, Communication Sciences, and Political Science. The University is going through a period of internationalization by offering scholarships to students from all over of the world.

Osservatorio Collurania The Observatory of Teramo was founded by Vincenzo Cerulli in 1890–1891, and donated to the Italian administration in 1891. Starting from 1994, the observatory owns an 80-centimetre-diameter (31.5 in) optical telescope.

Government At the municipal level, the City of Teramo has a council made up of the mayor and councilmen that are elected every 5 years. in Italy every citizen over 18 has the right to vote.