Bucchianico

To learn about the roots of Bucchianico, at the top of a hill between the Maiella and the Adriatic Sea, you should first visit the National Archaeological Museum in Chieti, about 9 km away: exhibits from its territory, such as a bronze fibula dated 9th cent. BCE. B.C., three votive bronzes and a marble sculpture of a male head, tell its very ancient history. 
However, historians agree that to find an accomplished urban structure, it is necessary to wait until the 9th century AD, when the inhabitants of Buca, a place near Vasto destroyed by the Saracens, sought refuge on this hill. 

"Certified" as a possession of St. Liberatore a Maiella, the village grew soon after the year 1000, following the construction of the Benedictine monastery dedicated to S. Maria Maggiore and S. Urbano (whose relics are preserved in the crypt of the church dedicated to him). 
Keep in mind the name of this saint who is a "tutelary deity" for the town, the protagonist of an important re-enactment: the Feast of the Banderesi, which has been held almost uninterruptedly for seven centuries in the month of May and, thanks to its authenticity, it is sponsored by the National Commission of UNESCO.
At the centre of the event, which we invite you to attend, is the saint himself, one of the patron saints of Bucchianico, who in the 14th century following a siege of the Theatines to the town, appeared in a dream to the Sergeant, head of the militia, confiding in him a stratagem to resolve the issue without bloodshed. And so it happened.

Another event that marked the history of Bucchianico was the birth (May 25, 1550) of Camillus de Lellis, founder of the Order of the Ministers of the Infirm (Camillians) and, together with St. John of God, he was the universal patron of the sick, nurses and hospitals. You can also see a statue of him in the nave of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, his adopted city where he exercised his vocation for most of his life.
In the centre, notice elegant palaces: they are the result of the period in the 18th century when many bourgeois families, including the de Lellis, after acquiring noble titles, called master builders from Lombardy to have "luxury" buildings constructed for them. 

Nowadays, rooms of great architectural interest, with cross or barrel vaults, worked with exposed brick, can be found in various palaces. They were oil mills, wine cellars, warehouses necessary for trade with Venice and Dalmatia through the port of Ortona and for the famous fairs of Lanciano.
We suggest you pay your respects to St. Camillus at the shrine, which he himself began to build in the village in the first half of the 17th century. Inside, you can admire a beautiful gilded polychrome wooden bust depicting him.

Taste dishes based on the area's famous zucchini, cooked in a hundred different ways, and for which Bucchianico is called "Lu paese de le cucoccije”. Before try to reach one of the town's vantage points: in front of your eyes as in a Vedutist painting appear a wide stretch of sea, the entire Maiella massif, the Gran Sasso, the Pescara valley (from the Gorges of Popoli to the Adriatic) and dozens of small villages clinging to hills and mountains. All with a story to tell.

What else to see:

• The birthplace of Camillus de Lellis
• The Monaco-La Valletta Palace
• The Church of Purgatory
• The small church dedicated to Sant'Antonio
• The Gothic Portal
• The Oil Museum
• The Route of San Tommaso Apostolo
• The Calcara
• The Calanchi