Overview
A terrace on paradise.
This is how we like to describe one of the most iconic and photographed places in Vasto. We're talking about the Loggia Amblingh, a balcony set among the narrow streets of the historic centre from which you can enjoy a truly enchanting view of the wide, crescent-shaped gulf, also called the "Golden Gulf", overlooking the crystal-clear waters of the Adriatic Sea along the Trabocchi Coast.
You will appreciate this and other extraordinary tidbits on your tour of discovery of the splendid town in the province of Chieti with its ancient origins, which gathers the vestiges of three thousand years of civilization, evidenced by ancient towers, fortifications, churches and palaces, and enchants with a charm of another era.
Traces of ancient Histonium, one of the main Frentan cities, are still visible. You can appreciate the remains of the Roman amphitheatre, the Santa Chiara cisterns and the ancient Roman baths dating from the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, where precious mosaic floors depicting the god Neptune and other marine scenes have been found.
Among the most significant structures of the medieval period, you can admire the Caldoresque Castle, enriched over the years by two cylindrical towers and three corner bastions.
A few steps along the main street in the historic centre, you reach Palazzo d'Avalos, one of the most significant examples of Renaissance architecture in Abruzzo. It houses the Civic Museum, the Archaeological Museum, the Picture Gallery, the Museum of Ancient Costume and the spectacular Neapolitan garden, restored to its former glory thanks to a skilful restoration that returned it to its original late 18th-century layout.
Continuing along the North Belvedere you will come across the 13th-century Romanesque Portal, what remains of the lower façade of St. Peter's Church, which collapsed following a succession of landslides and mudslides that in 1956 caused one of the oldest wards in the valley to sink toward the sea.
In addition to this evidence of historical evolution, also interesting to visit are the Arch of Porta Santa Maria and the Rossetti Theatre, founded in the early 1800s, one of the first in Abruzzo.
Among the places of worship, it is worth a visit to the Cathedral of St. Joseph, which retains its original 14th-century facade with portal and rose window, the Church of St. Mary Major and the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, patron saint of the city.
Now head down the coast to Marina di Vasto, characterized by a wide sandy beach and shallow waters. Your gaze will be caught by a sinuous female figure on a rock: it is "La Bagnante" (Monument to the Bather) a tribute to feminine beauty, a bronze work by Abruzzo sculptor Aldo D'Adamo.
Not far away, submerged by crystal-clear waters, important archaeological presences of ancient Histonium, such as walls, apses, columns and remains of buildings, await divers in the small paradise of the Underwater Archaeological Park. Climbing northward, the coast becomes jagged, due to the presence of picturesque cliffs, enchanting bays and coves made even more striking by the trabocchi.
Cliff after cliff, let yourself be inspired by one of the most striking and extraordinary places on the entire Adriatic coast, a true piece of paradise: the Punta Aderci Nature Reserve with its rocky promontory of the same name from where the view sweeps from the Maiella to the Gran Sasso, to the Sibillini Mountains. An ideal habitat for many bird species, such as herons, grebes, terns, cormorants, the marsh harrier and the Kentish plover, typical Mediterranean scrub vegetation reigns here.
In between walks, why not stop to enjoy local specialties? You certainly cannot miss the typical brodetto alla vastese.
