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Chieti lies on a crest along the Pescara river with its unmistakable profile with the high belltower of San Giustino against the sky, a few km away from the Adriatic Sea, and with the Majella and Gran Sasso in the background. It was a Roman town, Teate, and important medieval centre, that's why walking through the city you see Roman and medieval ruins side by side. Of special importance is also the Pinacoteca C. Barbella, hosting works of Abruzzese artists, as well as the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, the richest archeological museum in the region, with, among other, unique works as the Capestrano Warrior, a statue of the 7th century BC, one of the symbols of the region, a wonderful Hercules statue and one of the very few Galba gold coins in the world.
 Info 
Altitude: 330 m a.s.l
-- Population: ca. 56000 inhabitants
-- Zip code: 66100
-- Phone Area Code: 0871
-- How to reach it: road: s.s.n. 5; motorway: A25 exit Chieti
History:
The origins of Chieti are lost in the mist of time, and many like the legend that it was founded by Achilles and named after his mother Tetis. The ancient name of Teate, may derive from ti(f)a (= tiati= teba, meaning "forested hill") and existed already in 1000 BC, when the town was the capital of the Marrucini people, who in the following centuries allied with the Romans agains Pyrrhus and Hannibal, then joined the rebellion of the Samnites against Rome.
Under the Roman empire it was a municipium and many monuments and buildings are left of that period. With the fall of the Roman empire the town declined in importance, and was destroyed in 801 AD by the Franks. Later on it was included in the Duchy of Spoleto, and was occupied in turn by the Angevins, Aragonese and Austrians.
The angevin domination marked a period of revival and in the late 12th century Teate was made capital of Abruzzo Citra, the area south of the Pescara river. At that time Chieti also had the privilege of its own mint, and there was a powerful archbishopry.
Sights & Excursions 
Cattedrale di S. Giustino, with a fine marble altar, paintings, frescoes, precious wooden furniture and the wonderful belltower
Chiesa di S. Francesco, with an original XII-century rosewindow and inside paintings by Giovanni Battista Spinelli and Ettore Graziani
Chiesa di S. Domenico (XVII century)
Chiesa di S. Chiara
Chiesa di S. Giovanni Battista, with Venetian paintings of the XVII century
Chiesa di S. Gaetano, with stucco decorations by Giambattista Gianni
Pinacoteca C. Barbella
Museo Archeologico Nazionale
Parco Nazionale della Maiella
Events & Festivities
17 January: Feast of St. Anthony, with satyrical repesentations of the Saint's temptations
Good Friday: Procession with Selecchi's Miserere, played by 100 violins, among the most impressive celebrations
8 Maggio: Feast of patron St. Giustino
26 July: Feast of patron St. Anna
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