Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

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October 10th-20th, 1844. These days I passed in Aquila, hoping for finer weather, now and then tantalized by a day of sunshine, though the morrow was surely wet, so that after several disappointments, I finally decided to return to Rome, leaving the Teramana unexplored, my churches undrawn, and my good Marsican friends unrevisited. (..) Once more I essayed to go from Aquila to Teramo, and had arranged with a guide to sleep at Pizzoli the first, and at Montorio the second night, but lo! when morning came, pouring torrents once more forbade the attempt: a sad disappointment after spending so much time and money. So not to be again deluded, I hired a coach at once to Rieti, and proceeded thence immediately to Rome.
Edward Lear - Illustrated Excursions in Italy - 1846

(left) Porta Melatina or di S. Antonio, a historical gate in the northern side of the walls which was redesigned in the early XXth century and (right) Porta delle Recluse, named after the female inmates of the mental hospital which stood above the two gates

The way ran through a pretty undulated country, well cultivated, and shaded by olives interspersed with oaks. The aspect of the Gran Sasso, which we were rapidly approaching, added greatly to the surrounding scenery: its details, and especially the highest peak, became more clearly defined, and developed themselves in a state of dignity, not the less impressive from the somewhat gloomy character they assume. But some steep, though inconsiderable elevations, which inclose the town of Teramo, soon shut out this prospect as we approached it. The city is situated at the junction of the rivers Tordino and Vezzola, which unite at right angles just under the principal gate; giving it that peculiar position which obtained for it, like all others in similar situations, the appellation of Interamnium. (..) The hills that thus surround Teramo on every side, are supposed to be detrimental to a free ventilation and the air is, in consequence, not considered healthy at all times of the year. They likewise effectually shut out all view of Monte Corno from the town; but a slight ascent of few minutes' duration, up any of their banks, immediately replaces it within the scope of vision. (..) The exterior of Teramo, encircled by decayed walls and crumbling towers, is far from indicative of the capital of a province.
Keppel Richard Craven - Excursions in the Abruzzi and northern provinces of Naples - 1838
The walls and fortifications of Teramo were completely pulled down in the early XXth century to favour the access to the town.

Medieval evidence in the centre of Teramo; the image used as background for this page shows a detail of a medieval portal

A breach in the walls, which served for entrance for a carriage during some temporary repairs to the principal gate and street, was in strict unison with this appearance. The interior, composed of narrow lanes and mean-looking houses, seemed quite deserted at the hour I entered, which was that devoted to rest after the noon-day heat. We found some difficulty in gaining admittance to one of the only two inns which it boasts of; but the accommodation, especially the culinary department, was above mediocrity. There is but one broad and straight street; and, in that one, but few good houses. The town boasts of but few manufactures, or establishments of industry; but, as the capital of the first province of Abruzzo Ultra, it contains the civil and criminal tribunals, and is the residence of several families of considerable landed property. Craven
There is a cross-road from Ascoli to Teramo, which is followed by the Post, and is also the Custom-house road. (..) Teramo is the capital of the 1st province of Abruzzo Ultra, - the smallest Province in the kingdom, although it has a population of 188,000 souls. The province is divided into two distretti, Teramo being the chief town of one, and Penne of the other. Teramo has a population of 9500 souls.
Murray - A Handbook for Travellers in Southern Italy - 1853
Teramo remained the capital of a province also after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. This role favoured the development and modernization of the town similar to what occurred at Chieti.

Roman amphitheatre (see a list of Roman amphitheatres which are shown in this website)

This city has been so accurately demonstrated to have been the Interamnium Praetutium, that no argument is requisite to corroborate the fact. Its name was due to its position between two rivers, and was common to others in similar situations, - such as, Interamnia Lirinas, on the Liris, Interamnia Nar, (now Terni,) and Interamnia Tiferna, the present Termoli; and its adjunct denoted its rank as the principal town of the Praetutian tribe or nation. The district which they occupied appears to have abounded in wine during the Roman era; and this article, which formed a staple commodity of the country, was collected for exportation at the mouths of the several rivers that divide these regions. (..) Some remains of antiquity are still extant, which point out the identity of its site and the rank it held in the country. Among these may be noted two fine arches, of immense blocks, belonging to the amphitheatre, the remainder of which is buried under a portion of the modern town; these relics being in the interior court of a small house, to which the access is by no means easy. Craven
In 1937 the houses which stood on the remaining walls of the amphitheatre were pulled down. In the XIIth century the amphitheatre was used as a quarry to build the Cathedral which occupies its northern part.

Roman Theatre

There are also to be seen the faint vestiges of a theatre, baths, and other edifices; while the quantity of busts, sculptural fragments, and inscriptions, which have been found, is numberless. Craven
From a passage in Frontinus it may be collected, that this city was first a municipium, and afterwards a Roman colony, (de Agr. Limit.) (..) The remains of antiquity which have been discovered here, prove the importance of this ancient city.
A geographical and historical description of Ancient Italy; by Cramer, J. A. - 1826
Sextus Julius Frontinus, a general of Domitian, is best known for a treatise on the aqueducts of Rome. He was proconsul in Asia Minor in 86 AD. The theatre is dated ca 30 BC at the time of Emperor Augustus and it is located very near the amphitheatre. Archaeologists have found evidence of an adjoining odeon, a small covered theatre (see a similar larger complex at Philadelphia (Amman).

Roman reliefs on the side of the Cathedral depicting weapons and protective equipment, most likely from a funerary monument (see a mausoleum with reliefs depicting gladiatorial combats)

In 1997 the reliefs, statues and other Roman works of art which were found during the excavations of the amphitheatre and of the theatre and in other parts of Teramo were put on display in a small archaeological museum. Unfortunately the building was damaged by the 2016 earthquake which razed Amatrice to the ground and in 2023 it was still closed. You may wish to see an interesting brooch at Chieti which suggests that the Praetutii practiced a limited nomadism.

Roman house near S. Anna dei Pompetti on the site of Santa Maria Aprutiensis, the first cathedral

The house is dated Ist century BC and it was built around a peristylum, a colonnaded courtyard with an impluvium, a basin for collecting rainwater. Three other roman houses have been identified in the historical centre of Teramo, one of which was discovered in 1891 beneath a small palace which still exists; it retains a coloured floor mosaic depicting a lion in the act of killing a snake inside a frame of garlands and theatrical masks which brings to mind a floor mosaic of the House of the Faun at Pompeii.

Casa del Melatino and details of its windows

When the Lombards succeeded to the Goths in the invasion and successful occupation of Italy, the name of the city was changed, or corrupted, from Praetutium to Atrutium, and it is, as such, first mentioned by St. Gregory the Great. Its episcopal church retained, however, its distinctive appellation of Interamnium, which, later, became Teramum; and early in the twelfth century the town itself resumed its original name under the slightly altered form of Teramo, while the division of country to which it appertained continued to be called Aprutium, which title gradually extended to the whole of the surrounding district. Craven
The Melatino were one of the most important families of medieval Teramo. The house named after them was designed in 1372 for Roberto Melatino. In the XVth century the Melatino switched from favouring to opposing the attempts by the Acquaviva of Atri to include Teramo in their dukedom.

S. Antonio: (left) façade (on a market day); (centre) detail of the portal showing a bird, perhaps a reference to St. Francis preaching to the birds; (right) interior

The day I passed at Teramo proved more than sufficiently long to see everything it contains that is worthy of observation. (..) The population wears the appearance of poverty and idleness, but their manners are singularly courteous and conciliating; and the higher classes, in dress, demeanour, and discourse, evince a general superiority over the other provinces. (..) The surrounding country, broken into hillocks of a precipitous form but no considerable elevation, is in general fertile, producing in abundance corn, wine, and oil of a good quality. Craven
S. Antonio was part of a Franciscan convent which was founded as early as 1227 in the historical centre of Teramo. Similar to many other churches of Abruzzo, e.g. S. Francesco della Scarpa at Sulmona, it retains a fine medieval portal, but its interior was thoroughly redesigned in the XVIIIth century.

Cathedral: (left) façade; (right) bell tower which was completed in 1493 by Antonio da Lodi who designed the spire of that of Atri

The cathedral has been so repaired and modernized, that except in its portal, which retains a Gothic scroll, it has lost the venerable character of antiquity which the date of its foundation might claim for it; for it is considered as the earliest of all the Christian dioceses in this part of the kingdom, and its head, on that account, is dignified with the title of Bishop of the Abruzzi. Craven
The Cathedral was built in the XIIth century, but it was redesigned and enlarged in 1330-1335. The portal bears the inscription "Magister Deodatus de Urbe Fecit Hoc Opus MCCCXXXII". In the following centuries many additions were made to the façade, including some Ghibelline merlons which are not consistent with the purpose of the building, but were popular in the XIXth century (see those at Todi and Arezzo). In 1949 the diocese of Teramo was united with that of Atri.

Cathedral: (left) main portal; (right) XVth century addition (see a similar portal at Leonessa)

The medieval towns of Abruzzo competed for having the finest church portals. At Atri the Cathedral has four highly decorated portals, at L'Aquila S. Maria di Collemaggio has three decorated portals and even a church of a small town as Trasacco is remarkable for two decorated portals. In general the portals have been less damaged by the earthquakes which caused the collapse of other parts of the churches e.g. at S. Maria di Paganica at L'Aquila and at S. Agostino at Amatrice.

Cathedral; (left) lions which supported columns; (right) detail of the portal showing a Cosmati decoration

During the XXth century the Cathedral was redesigned in order to restore/ emphasize its medieval aspect, similar to what was done in many other towns of Abruzzo, e.g. at Chieti. In the process four medieval lions which supported columns were moved from the interior to the sides of the façade.
The sculptor who made the main portal qualified himself as de Urbe, i.e. from Rome. There are no records of him in Rome, but the decoration of the portal brings to mind that of the cloisters of S. Giovanni in Laterano and S. Paolo fuori le Mura.

Cathedral: (left) interior; (right) painted roof

The XXth century changes to the interior have unearthed some Roman columns which were incorporated into later pilasters, but the removal of all altars and other decorations which characterized the Cathedral after a redesign which was made in 1739, results in an excessive bareness which the interior never had.

Cathedral; (left) pulpit; (centre) holy water basin making use of Roman capitals; (right) baroque side chapel

The pulpit was made in the XIIth century by using some Roman elements. Its relief maybe came from a marble balustrade of the earlier cathedral (see those at S. Clemente and S. Sabina in Rome). The side chapel was designed in the XVIIth century and it was added to the main building, so it escaped demolition; it is dedicated to St. Berardo, Bishop of Teramo in 1116-1122, a man of great piety but who is not included in the list of the saints recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.

Cathedral: main altar: 20 of the 35 scenes of its antependium by Nicola di Guardiagrele (1433-1448); see a cloth antependium at Collescipoli near Terni

The Cathedral, with a Romanesque portal and baroque interior, contains an antependium (a decorative piece, usually of textile, but also metalwork, stone or other material that can adorn a Christian altar) by the goldsmith Nicola di Guardiagrele.
Karl Baedeker - Italy; handbook for travellers - 1900
The panel was commissioned by Giosia d'Acquaviva, Duke of Atri and governor of Teramo. The antependium is made up of 35 gilt silver leaves on an oak support and it is embellished by 22 enamels portraying sacred images. Art historians suggest that Nicola di Guardiagrele (a town near Lanciano) had most likely seen Lorenzo Ghiberti's eastern door of the Baptistery of Florence which (according to Michelangelo) was fit to be that of Heaven (Porta del Paradiso).

(left) Cathedral: wood statue (XIVth century); (centre/right) Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo (MUNDA) at L'Aquila from the district of Teramo: wood statue; painting (XVth century) by Giacomo da Campli

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Monte Corno, the highest peak of the Gran Sasso seen from Isola by Edward Lear

September 30th, 1843. The clouds still hung heavily on the mountains, but I decided on starting for Isola, a little town at the foot of the Gran Sasso, the monarch of the Abruzzi, with which I longed to have a closer acquaintance. I left Citta di Penne early. The whole of my day's journey was close to the high mountain-range, dividing the provinces of the Abruzzi 1° and 2° Ulteriori, and did not present any particular point of interest; nor were there any towns or villages in our day's route, which lay among low wooded hills, overlooked by the dark-topped mountains beyond, or crossing the bed of streams which in winter must be formidable torrents. Towards evening, by paths winding through beautifully wooded landscapes we reached Isola, which stands on a peninsula formed by two rivers that nearly surround it. It is an exceedingly pretty place, and immediately above it rises the single pyramid of Monte Corno, the Gran Sasso, a most noble back-ground. (..) October 2, 1843. About three hours after midnight we set off, and as the light grew, the dark Monte Corno towering above us became every moment more magnificent. We journeyed on through a vale of fine oaks by the side of a river, and the scene reminded me of many a park in England. By sunrise, when the cold grey eastern side of the mountain glowed at once like a mass of ruby, we had mounted as far as the little village of Fano, by steep chalk-paths through beautiful forests of tall beech for three or four hours, and a more magnificent ascent I never enjoyed. (..) At length we reached the top of the pass, and bade adieu to the view towards the north, over the province of Teramo, which was more remarkable for extent than beauty. Lear
The ascent of the snowy mountain, Gran Sasso d'ltalia, is also usually undertaken from Teramo. Isola, most picturesquely situated at the foot of the mountain, is 3 hrs. from Teramo, and there mules may be obtained. The lower part of the ascent is through woods, but the upper part is very rocky, and usually covered with snow. The summit - Monte Corno, 10,154 feet - is the highest point in the Apennines.
Augustus J. C. Hare - Cities of Southern Italy and Sicily - 1891

Go to:
Introductory page to this section
Alba Fucens
Amatrice
Amiternum
Antrodoco
Atri - the Town
Atri - the Cathedral
Avezzano
Borgocollefegato and the Cicolano
Carsoli
Celano
Chieti
Chieti - Roman memories
Cittaducale
Lanciano
L'Aquila - the Vale
L'Aquila - Historical outline
L'Aquila - S. Maria di Collemaggio
L'Aquila - S. Bernardino
L'Aquila - Other churches
L'Aquila - Other monuments
Leonessa - The Town
Leonessa - The Churches
Luco and Trasacco
Montereale
Penne
Pescara
S. Benedetto dei Marsi and Pescina
Roman Sulmona
Medieval Sulmona
Renaissance Sulmona
XVIIIth century Sulmona
Sulmona: Easter Day Ceremony (La Madonna che scappa - The Fleeing Madonna)
Tagliacozzo
Appendix - Other excerpts and illustrations from Lear's book covering minor towns and sites