Province of Chieti

The Province of Chieti (; Abruzzese: ') is a province in the region of Abruzzo in southern Italy. Its provincial capital is the homonymous city of Chieti. The province has a population of 369,059 in an area of across its 104 municipalities.

Chieti's cathedral was first constructed during the 9th century but was reconstructed during the 13th century. The province contains the National Archaeology Museum of Abruzzo, in Italian the Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo, which contains items from the area prior to Roman rule.

The province of Chieti contains Ortona, a town founded by Fretani people for trading with the Greeks, which was the scene of a World War II battle between German and predominantly British and Canadian forces; over 2,000 civilians died and the town was largely destroyed.

There has been a movement by farmers away from the land and the area. The outflow has been greatest from the hilly and mountainous areas, where the holdings are small and worked by the families who own them. In the period 1951 to 1971, the number of people employed in agriculture in Chieti fell from over 80% to around 45%, the number employed in industry tripled to around 20% and the number employed in the service sector, tripled to around 30%.

Municipalities

The province has 104 municipalities.

Altino
Archi
Ari
Arielli
Atessa
Bomba
Borrello
Bucchianico
Canosa Sannita
Carpineto Sinello
Carunchio
Casacanditella
Casalanguida
Casalbordino
Casalincontrada
Casoli
Castel Frentano
Castelguidone
Castiglione Messer Marino
Celenza sul Trigno
Chieti
Civitaluparella
Civitella Messer Raimondo
Colledimacine
Colledimezzo
Crecchio
Cupello
Dogliola
Fallo
Fara Filiorum Petri
Fara San Martino
Filetto
Fossacesia
Fraine
Francavilla al Mare
Fresagrandinaria
Frisa
Furci
Gamberale
Gessopalena
Gissi
Giuliano Teatino
Guardiagrele
Guilmi
Lama dei Peligni
Lanciano
Lentella
Lettopalena
Liscia
Miglianico
Montazzoli
Montebello sul Sangro
Monteferrante
Montelapiano
Montenerodomo
Monteodorisio
Mozzagrogna
Orsogna
Ortona
Paglieta
Palena
Palmoli
Palombaro
Pennadomo
Pennapiedimonte
Perano
Pietraferrazzana
Pizzoferrato
Poggiofiorito
Pollutri
Pretoro
Quadri
Rapino
Ripa Teatina
Rocca San Giovanni
Roccamontepiano
Roccascalegna
Roccaspinalveti
Roio del Sangro
Rosello
San Buono
San Giovanni Lipioni
San Giovanni Teatino
San Martino sulla Marrucina
San Salvo
San Vito Chietino
Sant'Eusanio del Sangro
Santa Maria Imbaro
Scerni
Schiavi di Abruzzo
Taranta Peligna
Tollo
Torino di Sangro
Tornareccio
Torrebruna
Torrevecchia Teatina
Torricella Peligna
Treglio
Tufillo
Vacri
Vasto
Villa Santa Maria
Villalfonsina
Villamagna

Demographics

As of 2026, the population is 369,059, of which 49.1% are male, and 50.9% are female. Minors make up 13.7% of the population, and seniors make up 27.3%.

Immigration

As of 2025, of the known countries of birth of 363,344 residents, the most numerous are: Italy (332,008 – 91.4%), Romania (6,180 – 1.7%), Albania (4,694 – 1.3%), Germany (2,989 – 0.8%).

Quality of life

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible autocollapse"

! colspan="2" | Quality of life indicators according to Il Sole 24 Ore in 2019

! Indicators

! Values

! colspan="2" |Wealth and consumption

|Value added per inhabitant

|€23,300

|Per capita bank deposits

|€19,777.2

|Average monthly mortgage payments

|€709.8

|Average remaining financial exposure

|€28,029.0

|Average price of new 100 m2 apartments in semicentral zones of the capital

|€1150.0 per m2

|Average monthly rental fee of new 100 m2 apartments in semicentral zones of the capital

|€350.0

|Sold m2/offered m2

|65.0%

|Average old-age pension amount

|€981.3

|Annual family expenditure on durable goods

|€2191.0

|Per capita protests

|€9.7

|Percentage of over 18 population with active credits

|38.3%

|Average income per taxpayer

|€17,432

|Income per taxpayer variation from 2007 to 2017

|1.4%

! colspan="2" |Environment and services

|Average per capita local governments social expenditure for disabled people, senior citizens, and minors

|€59.0

|Percentage of residents dismissed from hospitals out of Region

|15.0%

|Air pollution in terms of PM10

|24.0 μg/m³

|Family doctors/1,000 inhabitants

|1.1

|Pediatricians/1,000 inhabitants aged from 0 to 15 years old

|2.7

! colspan="2" |Justice and safety

|Reported car thefts/100,000 inhabitants

|109.4

|Reported home burglaries/100,000 inhabitants

|190.1

|Reported rapes/100,000 inhabitants

|2.9

|Reported crimes/100,000 inhabitants

|2679.0

|Reported robberies/100,000 inhabitants

|20.2

|Reported extortions/100,000 inhabitants

|11.4

|Reported crimes associated with psychoactive drugs/100,000 inhabitants

|38.4

|Reported frauds and informatics frauds/100,000 inhabitants

|265.1

|Civil procedures/100,000 inhabitants

|2530.4

|Percentage of cases pending more than three years

|0.1%

|Average duration of civil procedures

|244.4 days

|Defined procedures/new ones

|1.0

|Reports of crimes associated with money laundering/100,000 inhabitants

|0.5

|Reported fires/100,000 inhabitants

|7.8

|Dead and injured people due to road accidents/1,000 inhabitants

|3.9

! colspan="2" |Business and occupation

|Regular immigrants/resident population

|0.1%

|Unemployment rate (from 15 to 74 years old)

|11.3%

|Youth unemployment rate (from 15 to 29 years old)

|30.2%

|Goods exported abroad/GDP

|65.3%

|Inactive resident population

|34.9%

|Registered companies/100 inhabitants

|11.7

|Innovative startups/1,000 capital companies

|3.3

|Difference between new registered companies and ceased companies/companies registered in the former year

|0.1

|Failing companies/companies registered

|1.4%

! colspan="2" |Demography and society

|Domestic net migration

| -0.6%

|Mortality rate per 10,000 inhabitants

|11.8

|Deaths due to heart attacks/1,000 inhabitants in five years

|3.1

|Deaths due to tumors/1,000 inhabitants in five years

|13.5

|Life expectancy at birth

|82.9 years

|Average number of people per family

|2.3

|Life expectancy at birth increase

|2.1 years

|Households and unions/1,000 inhabitants

|497.3

|Successful births/average resident population

|6.6 ‰

|Population aged 65 and over/population aged 15–64

|0.391

|Population aged 65 and over/population aged 0–14

|2.016

|Difference between population that declares to become resident abroad and vice versa/1,000 inhabitants

|3.1

|Years of schooling received on average by over 25 population

|10.4

|Acquisition of citizenship/foreign residents

|2.2%

! colspan="2" |Culture and free time

|Cinema seats/100,000 inhabitants

|1927.5

|Libraries/10,000 inhabitants

|3.2

|Restaurants and bars/100,000 inhabitants

|685.5

|Shows/10 km2

|175.0

|Book shops/100.000 inhabitants

|7.0

|Gyms/100.000 inhabitants

|11.2

|Per capita expenditure on shows

|€9.8

|Percentage of population subscriber of ultra-broadband

|3.4%

|Hotel beds/km2

|9.7

Main sights

Chieti

thumb|left|The bell tower of the Cathedral of Chieti

The Gothic Cathedral, re-built by bishop Attone I in 1069. Of that building only parts of the Romanesque crypt remain. The church was remade in the 14th century and the bell tower was enlarged. After several earthquakes, the church was rebuilt again in the late 17th-18th centuries in Baroque style.
Oratory of Sacro Monte dei Morti
Church of San Francesco al Corso, founded in 1239. The façade shows an incomplete Baroque restoration.
Church of Santa Chiara

thumb|left|The famous [[Warrior of Capestrano in the National Archeological Museum of Abruzzo in Chieti]]

Under the church of SS. Pietro e Paolo and the adjoining houses are extensive substructures (in opus reticulatum and brickwork) of the 1st century CE, belonging to a building erected by M. Vectius Marcellus and Helvidia Priscilla. There are also remains of large reservoirs and of an ancient theatre. In the early 21st century, new archeological excavations are under way on the site of the former Campo Sportivo.

Lanciano

thumb|250px|The Torri Montanare

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Ponte ("St. Mary of the Bridge"), so called because it is built on bridgework along a precipice: is the work of Michitelli (1619) and has some paintings by Pozzulaniello (Giacinto Diana). It houses also an 8th-century Byzantine statue portraying the Madonna, probably brought here during the iconoclast controversy.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the most important architectural sites in Abruzzo. Built in 1227 according to Bourgogne-Cistercian lines, it was updated in 1540 in Baroque style, with the addition of two aisles and stucco decorations (recently stripped off). The main gate is from 1317.
Chiesa di San Francesco (1258), built over a pre-existing 7th-century church. The high altar houses the relics of the Eucharistic Miracle.
Chiesa di Sant'Agostino (1270). The façade has maintained the original rose window and the gate, while the single nave interior is a Baroque restoration.
Chiesa di San Biagio (11th century) is the oldest church of the city. It has a bell tower and it's always opened on 3 February for the anointing of the throat, a Catholic rite linked to the cult Saint Biagio.
Torri Montanare, a relic of the ancient walls (11th century). They consist in two massive towers, the most recent dating to the 15th century, offering a panoramic view of the area.
Porta San Biagio (11th century), the only one gate remaining of the nine once existing
Torre civica (19th century) was built over a pre-existing tower next to the cathedral. Nowadays it is a belfry and a clock tower.
Torre Aragonese (15th century) was a tower along the ancient walls.
Palazzo dell'Arcivescovado (16th century) is still the seat of the archbishop and houses a diocesan Museum.
Botteghe medievali was a house built in 1434. It has two floors and on the ground floor there are antique shops, with external bank according to the Roman use.

Vasto

thumb|Santa Maria Maggiore church bell tower

The old part of the town (centro storico) features a number of interesting buildings and churches dating from the 12th to the 18th century, including:

Cathedral of San Giuseppe
Santa Maria Maggiore: largest and oldest church in the town, mentioned in a document as early as 1195, with a tall bell tower. Damaged by the Turks in 1566, and by a fire in 1645, it went a thorough restructuring in 1735 in which it got the current shape. It hosts one of alleged Jesus' crown of thorns (Sacra Spina).
Castello Caldoresco
, which houses four museums, called

Below the hill on which the town is located, the beach resort town of Marina di Vasto offers a large sandy beach and several hotels and other facilities.

thumb|left|260px|Marina di Vasto and the [[Gulf of Vasto|Golfo di Vasto in the Adriatic Sea, viewed from Vasto]]

Further north the coast becomes rocky and features interesting pebble and stone beaches and coves, as well as the typical trabocchi, that are typical wooden fishing machines of the Southern Abruzzo coast.

Amongst the most interesting natural areas, also featuring a number of sandy and rocky beaches, is the protected natural area of the Riserva Naturale di Punta Aderci, whose beaches were voted in 2014 3rd of the top 20 beaches in Italy.

thumb|right|[[Trabucco|Trabocco]]

Ortona

The 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.

thumb|The Aragonese castle in [[Ortona]]

thumb|left|220px|The [[Basilica of San Tommaso Apostolo, Ortona, where are the remains of the saint]]

In 1258 the relics of the Apostle Thomas were brought to Ortona by the sailor Leone Acciaiuoli. In the first half of the 15th century, its walls were built, and during this period Ortona fought with the nearby town of Lanciano in a fierce war that ended in 1427. On June 30, 1447, ships from Venice destroyed the port of Ortona; consequently the king of Sicily at that time commissioned the construction of a Castle to dominate the renovated port. In 1582 the town was acquired by Margaret of Parma, daughter of Emperor Charles V and Duchess of Parma. In 1584 Margaret decided to build a great mansion, known as Palazzo Farnese, which was never completed due to her death.

After the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, Ortona became one of the first sea resorts on the Adriatic Sea. On 9 September 1943, the royal family of the House of Savoy left German-occupied Italy from the port of Ortona. The defensive Gustav Line was established by the Germans at Ortona, extending towards Cassino on the opposite side of Italy. Ortona offered the Allies a supply port on the Adriatic and was fiercely defended by the Germans attracted the attention of that the international press in the struggle between the German paratroopers and the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade. This led to this battle being known as "Little Stalingrad".

Guardiagrele

thumb|left|West view of Santa Maria Maggiore

The biggest church in Guardiagrele is Santa Maria Maggiore of which it has been written:

In addition to Santa Maria Maggiore, there are several other churches and palazzi or mansions of various ages which are of architectural interest, including S. Nicola di Bari (founded in the 4th century), the convent of the Chapuchins (1599), Palazzo De Lucia (16th century), Palazzo Elisii (15th-18th century), the cloister of the Palazzo Comunale Piazza San Francesco (17th century) and Palazzo Marini (1391).

Museums include:

Museo Civico (Civic Museum)
Museo del Costume e della Tradizione della Nostra Gente (Costume and Folk Museum)
Museo del Duomo ("Cathedral Museum"), in Santa Maria Maggiore
Museo Archeologico ("Archaeological Museum")

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

The province of Chieti is twinned with:

Malmö Municipality, Skåne, Sweden

References

External links

Official website