The document provides information about the Italian region of Abruzzo and the city of San Salvo located within it. San Salvo is an industrial and tourist city with nearly 19,000 inhabitants located on a hill along the Adriatic coast. It has experienced significant development in recent decades, particularly in the area of San Salvo Marina. The economy was traditionally based on agriculture but has diversified with the growth of industry and tourism. San Salvo is known for its beaches, which have received the Blue Flag recognition for water quality. The region and city have a rich cultural history and celebrate various traditional festivals throughout the year.

1. SAN SALVO (Ch)
ABRUZZO
ITALY
“To know better our Region and our City”

2. Region:

3. The Abruzzo region, as an administrative entity, was established in 1970. “Abruzzo”, replacing the
old name “Abruzzi”, is aimed at consecrating the region’s cultural and geographic unity.
Its crest consists of a Samnite shield with white, green, and blue
bands recalling the mountains, countryside, and sea of the region.
The Abruzzo region, located in central Italy, is defined
as the “Green Region of Europe” and is mainly
characterized by its mountains (65% of the total
surface) and hills (approximately 35% of the total
surface). It stretches over a surface area of
10,795.12 km2.
The region is divided into the four provinces of
Chieti, L’Aquila, Pescara, and Teramo, with 305
municipalities and 19 mountain communities, and
has approximately one million three-hundred
thousand inhabitants.

4. The Region is located in a privileged geographical position, as a
“central hinge” of traffics in the Adriatic corridor and between
the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Adriatic Sea, and it is also like a
gate to Eastern Europe and the Balkan regions, in particular.
Considering the overall reference picture of
the migratory phenomenon at the national level,
there are specific emerging aspects in the
context of the Abruzzo region, which hosts
several ethnic groups (African, South
American, and Asian), as well as large European
groups mostly coming from the Balkan regions.
The school organization in the Abruzzo region is quite
diversified, with approximately three hundred State
schools, numerous licensed and private schools,
Academies and Conservatories, and Universities, also in
small towns. There are several museums, libraries,
picture galleries, and theatres, which are an
interesting cultural industry with diversified and
widespread proposals in all geographical and
administrative areas of the region. There is also a
large number of cultural and non-profit volunteer
associations.

5. Formal, non-formal, and informal activities are
considered as sector-related and divided: sector
specializations amplify this character with
scattered and often occasional cultural proposals,
which can also be important.
We are aware of the need for an
integration policy through dialogue and
cooperation between education and
training systems, economy, and the
social and cultural contexts.
This is Abruzzo:
our Region!!!

8. Lively, picturesque, tourist
and industrial city, San Salvo
is a Municipality of 18.915
inhabitants in the Province of
Chieti, it lies on a large hill
of the southern coast of
Abruzzo, bordering Molise,
three km far from the
shores of the Adriatic sea.
In the last few decades
there has been a remarkable
development of San Salvo
Marina, which almost joins
Vasto Marina to the north,
with many tourist facilities
along the seafront.
On march 2007 the Municipality it
was confer a title of CITY by the
President of the Italian Repubblic,
Giorgio Napolitano.

9. “San Salvo d’amare” is the slogan
choice to promote San Salvo in the
World, for give it an identity.

11. HISTORY
The city of San Salvo situated in the immediate neighbourhood of the mouth of the Trigno River, faces the
Adriatic coastline, and has a very complex history.
Its prehistoric origins, despite the lack of specific
researches, are demonstrated by finds of different
manufactured products in the Trigno area, which shed new
light on ancient period. The discovery of various holy areas
dedicated to the pagan cult, prove the hypothesis of the
existence of inhabited areas. The recent works and
excavations in Piazza San Vitale contributed precisely to a
better knowledge of the town centre; the remains of some
marble and mosaic pavements, graves and air-ducts of a roman
aqueduct surfaced.
The fact of being close to the important city of Histonium, the presence of the Trigno River and its mouth and
its commercial crossroads, led to a fast development of the town.
As time passed, and with the Roman Empire in crisis, San Salvo changed the shape of its area, with a
reorganization of the settlements characterized by a remarkable economic vitality.
The Benedictine influence was very decisive for the whole Trigno territory; it allowed the town to grow
especially between the 11th and the 12th centuries.
The reafter, the town passed to the Cistercian obedience and consequently, under the influence of Santa Maria
di Casanova, the most powerful Cistercian Abbey in Abruzzo.

12. Inside the new Porta della Terra’s building, the
Superintendency is now preparing an archaeological
exhibition which retraced all the town and Valley of
Trigno’s development phases through the finds of
the last years.
This area kept growing during the various events over the centuries and, in the last fifty years, thanks to
the inhabitants’ intelligence and zeal, the town evolved from being a mainly agricultural place into an
industrial one, so much so that the city has been inserted in the Great little Italy’s one hundred towns’ list
and it boasts an impressive demographic increase.
In the last years, the city changed into a modern tourist location and, at the same time, into a place that is
attentive to the environmental safeguard.

13. TOURISM:
THE LITORAL OF SAN SALVO
Point of reference for the city of the San Salvo
is the coast. The beach, from the white and thin Blue Flag of Europe
sand, is very ample and, thanks to his clean
waters, to the quality of the coast and the
services, the city has conquered for different
years and still holds the Blue Flag of Europe,
aspired recognition assigned by the FEE.
The zone of the sea has been endowed with a Church devoted to the Resurrezione
of N.S. Jesus Cristo.
This line of coast can boast to environmental level an unique peculiarity: the dunes,
today object of guardianship, with the purpose to preserve the morphology “dunale”
and the spontaneous vegetation coastline. Just in virtue of the particular attention
it turns to the environment, the Mediterranean Botanical Garden was born, the
first and wider botanical garden “abruzzese”. The Garden offers to whom the
possibility is interested to observe and to know the characteristics of this habitat.
In the same zone are born the Observer of the Sea and the Area of the Didactic
Pool for the environmental education. The area with paths and structures will be
equipped for offering the possibility to everybody to observe the sea environment.

14. MEDITERRANEAN BOTANICAL GARDEN
The Giardino Botanico Mediterraneo (10 hectares) is a
botanical gardnerlocated along the Adriatic Sea about 2
kilometers north of San Salvo,Province of Chieti,Abruzzo,
Italy. It is open Monday through Friday in the warmer months;
an admission fee is charged.
The garden was established in 2001 by the Municipality of San
Salvo to recreate and conserve a strip of typical Adriatic sand
dunes, and to preserve plant species at risk of extinction. It
currently contains about 300species. The total site occupies 25
hectares, of which 15 are within the sea itself.

15. ECONOMY
San Salvo began its social and economic revival after the discovery of methane deposits: this energy
resource allowed to improve a degrading economy and to stop an encreasing emigration. New industries
settled in the area, immigrants arrived from the hinterland, from the different Communes of the
Region, and also from the South and North of Italy.
The economy, based on the agriculture (peachs tree groves, olive
tree grove, vineyards), the breeding and the craftsmanship, have
found its crowning in the phase of intense development of the last
period of forty years. The industrial installations S.I.V. (acquired
by the Pilkington (English) in 1993, in turn acquired by the NSG
(Japanese) in 2006) and Magneti Marelli (acquired by the Denso -
Toyota group), in parallel to the growth of the commerce, of the
tourism and of the services they have produced an intense
process of urbanization, that has brought San Salvo to become, in
proportional terms, the town to more intense demografic growth
of the whole Abruzzo.
Recognitions to such role have come both from the visit of the pope
Giovanni Paolo II to the workers and the population (March 1983) both
from the assignment (in 1987), on signaling of the Censis, of the prestigious
title "one of the 100 communes of small great Italy."
San Salvo it is "Blue Flag of Europe 2008" recognition had for the eleventh
time and from 10 consecutive years.

16. THE GENUINE PRODUCTS OF THE TERRITORY OF
SAN SALVO
San Salvo it is an earth rich in genuine products, resulted of the country and pastoral inheritance that has marked
deeply the uses and the customs of the population.
Among the niftys recipes you must be remembered the “Sanguinaccio”, a
typical dessert prepared with the filtered blood of pork, melting chocolate,
flour, almonds and pine kernel.
Among the so many products it deserves attention the olive
tree, that is slightly picked up in advance to the full maturation
and then worked in day, so that to confer to the oil a yielded
perfume, the low acidity and the transparency.
In the winery tradition is to remember the cooked must,
primarily used as adds to the wine to the purpose of a
best maintenance.
Particular importance is given by the cultivation of the peaches for the
marketing of it was born in 1971 the European Cooperative Ortofrutticola of
the Trigno.

17. FEASTS AND TRADITIONS OF THE CITY OF SAN SALVO
The inhabited area of San Salvo has still preserved in the time feasts and traditions still alive in the population.
Among the more characteristics feasts there is that in honor of
Patron Saint of city, St. Vitale, that is celebrated the 27 and 28
April. The preceding Saturday the holy day (20 April), the population
organizes a procession of decorated tractors with flowers and
ribbons that it recalls the tradition to bring the wheat to the mill for
the millstone. The women, in the square, used the mill to prepare the
“sagnitelle” (wide flat pasta). The women cook the sagnitelle in
copper boilers and after they offer the pasta together the blessed
“taralli” of St. Vitale to the citizen.
Always to St. Vitale it is tied up the party of December 20, that
recalls the arrival in the city of the bare ones of the Saint. The
feasts has called Lu Foche de Saints Tummase because that
night the procession was welcomed with a great fire.
To also remember the holy day of St. Vito and Sant'Antonio of 16 and 17 June, the holy day of St. Rocco on
September 18, the holy day of the Madonna delle Grazie in the end of May, the holy day of St. Nicola to the
beginning of June. The evening of January 5 the city is animate from the popular songs of the Pasquetta. Among
the other rites, interesting that of the Sand'Andonie and the Lu Sande Sebastiane, in which the country has
involved in the sacred popular representations in honor of the two saints. Also the Carnival in the last years has
regained an important role with the parade of the wagons, that on preceding Sundays are held on fat Tuesday.
During the summer season numerous demonstrations are developed for cheering the stay of the tourists in the city.

18. EVENTS & FESTIVITIES
April 27th-28th : Holy day of San Vitale - after a festive procession of carriages laden with flour,
the women prepare pasta in honour of San Vitale which is cooked and eaten in the main square.
April 20th : "Le Some"
December 20th : in 1765 of the relics of San Vitale were brought to San Salvo, joyfully.
For some years not there is the tradition on 15th August of fireworks on the sea, in rivalry with
the town of Vasto.
Late May: Holy day of the Madonna delle Grazie
Early June: Holy day of San Nicola
June16th-17 th
: Holy day of Saints Vito and Antonio
September 18th: Holy day of S. Rocco
December 20th: Bonfires for San Tommaso to commemorate the arrival of the relics of San
Vitale in 1765, and in honor of the saint on this day at dusk in the main square a huge bonfire of
wood is lit and kept burning throughout the night.

19. EXCURSIONS ON THE TERRITORY
Further the splendid sea, San Salvo offers excursions on the territory with itineraries rich in
charm. We signal:
- Agnone: city of art and factory of the bells;
- Capracotta: skiing place;
- Città del Vasto: city of art and of sea;
- Fossacesia: Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere;
- Lama dei Peligni: caves of Cavallone and Reserve of Appenninic Chamois Area;
- Lanciano: city of Miracolo Eucaristico;
- Monteodorisio: Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie;
- Monte Pallano: Mura Megalitiche del V sec. a.C.
- Pietrabbondante: SanniticTheatre;
- Roccavivara: Sanctuary of the Madonna del Canneto;
- Schiavi d’Abruzzo: ItalicTemples;
- Termoli: Ancient Seafaring Village;
- Trivento: Ancient Roccaforte sannitica;
- Isole Tremiti: daily and summer connection from the harbors of Vast and Termoli; For
bookings: “Informare" tel. 0873.802093
- Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo: www.parcoabruzzo.it
- Parco Nazionale della Majella: www.parcomajella.it
- Parco Regionale Velino Sirente: www.parks.it/parco.sirente.velino
- Parco Nazionale Gran Sasso Monti della Laga: www.parconazionalegransasso.it