Vasto is a city of 40,000 inhabitants in the Abruzzo province of Chieti, on a limestone cliff 144 metres above the Adriatic coast. It has a perfectly preserved historic center with a fine civic museum (the Palazzo d'Avalos, 16th century, containing Roman mosaics from the ancient city of Histonium, medieval sculpture, and a collection of Baroque painting), a cathedral (Cattedrale di San Giuseppe, with a Romanesque-Gothic bell tower), and below the cliff, the finest beaches on the central Adriatic. 30km of sandy coast south of Vasto (the Vasto-Termoli stretch, now partially protected as Riserva Naturale Costa del Trabocchi) that includes the extraordinary landscape of the trabocchi (the fishing platforms on wooden stilts that project over the sea, unique to this stretch of coast, ancient in design, now partly converted into restaurants over the water). Vasto is unknown internationally. It is very well known to Abruzzesi, who consider its beaches and its historic center the best combination on their coast.
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The Historic Center
The Vasto historic center clusters around Piazza Rossetti (named for Gabriele Rossetti, the poet and father of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who was born in Vasto in 1783). The Palazzo d'Avalos (16th century, built by the powerful d'Avalos family who controlled the Marquisate of Vasto) houses the Museo Civico, three floors of Roman mosaics (from the ancient city of Histonium, whose harbor was at the base of the Vasto cliff), medieval objects, and Baroque and 19th-century painting. The mosaics are the highlight, polychrome geometric and figurative patterns of the 2nd-3rd century AD, in good condition, particularly the mosaic of the Tiger Hunt (a hunting scene with extraordinary movement). Free admission. The loggia of the Palazzo has a panoramic view over the Adriatic that extends south toward the Gargano promontory on clear days.
The Trabocchi Coast
The Costa dei Trabocchi south of Vasto is named for the trabocchi, wooden fishing platforms built on piles driven into the sea rocks, connected to the cliff by a long walkway, used for fishing with a system of extending nets managed by a winch. The trabocchi date from at least the 17th century and represent an engineering tradition unique to this stretch of Adriatic coast, a response to the difficulty of fishing from the cliffs without boats. Many trabocchi have been converted into restaurants over the sea: eating fresh fish on a trabocco suspended above the Adriatic, with the piles creaking below and the sea on three sides, is one of the most specific gastronomic experiences available on the Italian coast. Book ahead, the best trabocco restaurants fill weeks in advance in summer.
Questions About Vasto
How do I get to Vasto?
By train: on the Adriatic main line (Bologna-Bari), Vasto has two stations. Vasto-San Salvo (in the valley below the historic center, 5km from town) and Vasto Marina (at the beach level). By car: A14 motorway, exit Vasto Sud. From Pescara: 70km south, 50 minutes. From Rome: 230km, 2h30 via A25.
What are the best beaches near Vasto?
The sandy beaches of Marina di Vasto are good but develop quickly south: the Riserva Naturale Costa dei Trabocchi begins 10km south and has beach access points (some requiring a short trail) with cleaner water and less development than the northern stretches. The beach at Punta Penna (the southern end of the Vasto bay) has dune vegetation and good swimming.
Curiosità su Vasto
Gabriele Rossetti, nato a Vasto nel 1783, morto a Londra nel 1854, fu poeta, librettista, politico risorgimentale, e padre di Dante Gabriel Rossetti (pittore preraffaellita) e di Christina Rossetti (poetessa). Esiliato da Napoli per le sue simpatie carbonare nel 1820, si rifugiò a Malta e poi a Londra dove divenne professore di italiano al King's College. I suoi figli, cresciuti in un ambiente italo-britannico straordinariamente ricco di influenze culturali (il padre che declamava Dante, la madre Frances Polidori d'origine italiana), divennero due dei più importanti artisti e letterati vittoriani. Il legame tra una piccola città adriatica dell'Abruzzo e il preraffaellismo inglese passa attraverso l'esilio carbonaro e la rete di intellettuali italiani che l'oppressione borbonica disperse in tutta Europa. Vedi anche: Abruzzo · Pescara · Campo Imperatore.
