CITY DESTINATION: Pescara Beach and Historical Fort (Italy)

CITY DESTINATION: Pescara Beach and Historical Fort (Italy)

By Jorge Jefferds August 10, 2016

There is a place in Italy, where in only thirty minutes you can travel between extensive beaches and high snow slopes. The site is a small city called Pescara, lies on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and proudly enjoys a Mediterranean climate. Short hot summers with temperatures around 90 degrees are exquisite on the beach that bathes this beautiful settlement. Founded in the 11th century, Pescara grew up from being a simple fishing village enriched with monuments and churches to become a port with more than 400,000 inhabitants.
Doing things in Pescara depends on what you are looking for. If you are into summer getaways and want to enjoy white sands, beach, and sun, Pescara is a good place but not the perfect one. The season tends to be short, usually hot and dry in July and rainy in August. However, you might be interested in combining those rain showers with visits to the historical district.

The Beachfront

History is something you will find on the south shore, where once stood the Piazzaforte (fortified town), a military bulwark of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. There is the Bagno Borbonico (the old prison of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, built starting in 1510 by order of Charles V, which incorporated inside the remains of the Norman and Byzantine city walls). Today it houses the Museum of the Abruzzi people: the institution traces, towards 13 halls dedicated to the aspects of life, traditions and economy, 4,000 years of history of the Abruzzo people.
In the historic city center are the birthplace houses of Gabriele D'Annunzio and Ennio Flaiano, and the San Cetteo Cathedral, build between 1933 and 1938.
On the north shore of the river there's Piazza Italia (Italy Square), overlooked by the City Hall and the Government Building (which houses the headquarters of the Province of Pescara), both built during the Fascist era according to the fascist rationalist style and designed by the architect Vincenzo Pilotti. Mr. Pilotti designed the majority of the public buildings of the city, including the seat of the local Chamber of Commerce, of the Liceo Classico "G. D'Annunzio" high school, and the old seat of the court (which now houses a museum).

San Cetteo Cathedral

In the very south part of the city, between the D'Avalos Park and the beach, there is an elegant Art Nouveau villas district designed in 1912 by Antonino Liberi (an engineer brother-in-law of D'Annunzio). There is also the Aurum, first headquarters of a social club (called the Kursaal), then liquor factory, and today public multipurpose space.
Ponte del Mare, the largest pedestrian and cycle bridge in Italy, was built in 2007 to culminate as the center of such eternal spots. On the northern waterfront, close to the Salotto Square, the main square of the city, there is the Nave (the ship), a sculpture by Pietro Cascella.

Ponte del Mare Bridge

A couple of excellent things about summer in Pescara are two international events, which generally occur between June and July. There is a jazz international festival that takes place since 1969, and the Flaiano Prizes, one of Italy’s most famous international film festivals.