Sulmona – Land of History
Sulmona was one of Italy’s most important ancient cities, dating back to pre-Roman Conquest. Sulmona, then known as Sulmo was first noted as a territory ravaged by Hannibal in 211BC. In 49 BC a young lieutenant – later to be immortalized as the love rival of Emperor Julius Caesar for the affections of Cleopatra – placed Sulmo under Roman protection. His name was Marcus Antonius (Mark Anthony).
With its numerous natural springs and temperate climate, Sulmo rapidly became a holiday spa town and remained so throughout the Roman Empire right up to present times.
Frederick II during the Norman Conquests in the 12th Century, made Sulmona a free region and capital of the province. Much of the town’s character today as the Citta d’Arte can be attributed to this period of building palaces and stately homes for the vacationing aristocracy and political class. The magnificent aqueduct built during this period remains today the most substantial historical monument in Abruzzo.
The town continued to expand and prosper in the 14th and 15th Centuries with a new line of fortified city walls being added, much of which is still intact to this day.
In the 18th and 19th Century, Sulmona became fashionable as a spa town once more. New Baroque influenced palazzos were built and the railway age positioned the town in an important strategic geographic position between Rome and the Adriatic coast.
The 20th Century saw the region fall into rapid decline. The socio-economic devastation caused by two World Wars and the lack of investment in transport infrastructure thereafter, saw other regions that were easier to get to – like Orvieto and Sienna – overtake Sulmona as a prosperous and fashionable destination for tourists and investors. Large numbers of the population emigrated to the America’s.
Difficult to get to by car, plane or train, Sulmona was gradually forgotten by the rest of the world. These years of neglect led to Sulmona becoming one of Italy’s best-kept secrets: a rare and precious treasure of history, culture, natural beauty and tradition forgotten…and ready to be re-discovered!