The Teatine coastline is called the Costa dei Trabocchi because of the trabocchi, picturesque wooden fishing installations that line the coast. The shoreline is characterized by an alternation of low and sandy or pebbly beaches, and high, rocky cliffs that gently slope into the sea.
Chieti is the fourth municipality in Abruzzo for number of inhabitants, and over time it has been dominated by the Angioini family, the Aragonesi family and the French, in the 19th Century. It stands on a hill that separates the Aterno-Pescara waters from those of Alento. The city consists of two parts: Chieti Alta (the higher part) including the old city center, and Chieti Scalo (the newest part), including the university campus.
The Cathedral of San Giustino is the largest and most important church in town. The communal villa, a Neoclassical residence, hosts the National Archaeological Museum of Abruzzo. The frescoes, paintings and ceramics at the Museum of Art "Costantino Barbella," housed inside the Martinelli-Bianchi Palace and the Museum of Sacred Art of Ortona, are also impressive.
Vasto is the second-largest town in the Province, based on number of inhabitants and, like Chieti, has pre-Roman origins. The city comprises two parts: Vasto proper, the old town center, and Vasto Marina, the new residential and commercial center on the sea. Its coastline is a perferred seaside destination in the region. The Cathedral of San Giuseppe dates back to the 18th Century, while the D'Avalos Palace stands on the ruins of a 14th-Century building and takes its name from the last family who ruled the city. It hosts the Archaeological Museum and the picture gallery. During the 19th Century, the Caldoresco Castle was also used as a private residence.
Atessa is part of the Mountain Community of Valsangro and is the town with the largest territory of the province. Here you can see the Column of St. Christopher, at the top of the hill of the same name, rising up behind the city center; the statue of the saint was built to invoke protection from the plague of 1657. After the column, we see the Cathedral of San Leucio and the Santa Croce Church, as well as many noble palaces: Palazzo Coccia-Ferri, Palazzo Spaenta, the Casa De Marco and Palazzo Marcolongo.
The Province also boasts the Roman thermae, the Municipal Archaeological Museum and the Diocesan Museum of Lanciano. Also in Lanciano, site of the Lanciano Eucharistic Miracle, visitors can see the Borgognona-Cistercian Church of Santa Maria Maggiore and its beautiful rose window, but not only: the Cathedral, partly constructed over a Roman bridge from the 2nd Century, is also in the heart of this charming Medieval borgo.
Finally, the Museum of the Battle Ortona-MUBA '43 opened its doors, in 2002: it consists of a thematic itinerary recreating the Battle of Ortona, to commemorate the 1,314 civilian victims, as well as the Canadian and German soldiers that died in service in December, 1943.
