Ortona trip planner

Ortona is a coastal town and municipality of the Province of Chieti in the Italian region of Abruzzo, with some 23,000 inhabitants.Ortona was the site of fierce fighting between the 1st Fallschirmjäger Division and the 1st Canadian Infantry Division during the Italian campaign in World War II. The ferocity of the Battle of Ortona led it to be known as the "Little Stalingrad". A patron saint of Ortona is Saint Thomas the Apostle (Tommaso), whose relics are kept here.HistoryThe origins of Ortona are uncertain. Presumably, it was first inhabited by the Frentani, an Italic population. In 2005, during works near the Castle, a Bronze Age settlement was discovered, and the Roman town largely coincided with this first settlement. Some sections of paved roads and urban walls, as well as some archaeological findings are the only remains of this period. Ortona remained a part of the Roman Empire (i.e., the Byzantine Empire) for several centuries, before it was annexed by the Kingdom of the Lombards. In 803 the Franks incorporated Ortona into the county of Chieti. From that date on, the town remained tied to Chieti and its territory.