Why Is Abruzzo Important

I. Introduction The region of Abruzzo is located on the eastern coast of Italy, bordered to the west by Lazio (Roma) and to the east by the Adriatic Sea. The region is home to a distinct culture and history due to the mountainous area within it. It contains four provinces of L’Aquila, Pescara, Teramo, and Chieti with the capital city L’Aquila located at the base of the mountains. The region is plagued by poverty and earthquakes but is on the road to recovery from both. Abruzzo is often overlooked as not part of the South or North but has played an important role in Italian life and history.
II. Geography Abruzzo is bordered by the Apennine range on the west and the Adriatic coast on the east. The region is only 10,783 km2 (4,156 mi2) but …show more content…
Searching for a new home, the Greek people sailed along the Adriatic Sea before some settled in modern day Abruzzo. After years the Greeks developed into different tribes, the most notable being the Masi. These people lived in relative peace until the Romans came over the mountains and conquered the region in the 3rd Century BC. The Abruzzi people were considered Romans and part of the Roman Empire until the decline of the Empire. The weakness of the empire gave the Lombards access to the previously protected region of Abruzzo. The Lombard people conquered the region and two tribes eagerly fought for centuries for control. This changed in the 13th century when the Frederic II of Germany became the King of Sicily. Frederic ended the fighting between the Lombard tribes and incorporated Abruzzo into the Kingdom of Sicily, forever entwining the region into the southern politics of Italy. Frederic united the former feudal states of Abruzzo into a single province and in 1230 founded L’Aquila that remains the capital city today. In 1268, long after Frederic II’s death, a war broke out between the current Holy Roman Emperor Conradin, Frederic’s grandson and the current King of Sicily, Charles of France. This became known as the Battle of Abruzzo in which the two contested control over the region, ultimately ending on Conradin’s defeat and Abruzzo remained part of the Kingdom of Naples (Kingdom of Sicily). In the 15th Century, control of the Kingdom of Naples, including Abruzzo, briefly passed to the Austrian King Alfonso V of Aragon beginning a new dynasty only to last three centuries before rule returned to the Bourbons of France. After waves of unification movement in the 19th century, in 1861 Abruzzo was unified with the region of Molise as part of the new Italy. Abruzzo remained linked with Molise until 1963 when the