Ari is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

province of Chieti The province of Chieti (; Neapolitan language, Abruzzese: ') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city Chieti, which has a population of 50,770 inhabitants. The province has a total popul ...

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

, south-eastern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is an agricultural center of the Frentan Sub-

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

, located on a spur to the left of the river Dendalo.

History

Human presence in early historic times is testified by a bronze statuette found nearby, currently in the Antiquarium Teatinum. The statue depicts a man with a kilt holding a plate in his right hand as a sign of offer or request to a deity. 1st century BC

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

s have also been found. The first historical mention of the village dates back to 870 AD, when, among the possessions of the

abbey of Montecassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient Roman town of Casinum, it is the first house ...

, is mentioned a ''sancti Petri'' on the site of modern Ari. The local monastery, thanks to the economic help given from the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

, gradually increased reaching the apogee between the 10th and 11th century, when it included a library, an oratory and several possessions such as churches, lands, and mills. Two papal bills, one by

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

of 1173 and one by

Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

of 1208, reaffirm the belonging to the churchood of Chieti, while other privileges are confirmed in a bill of emperor

Lothair II Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was a Carolingian king and ruler of northern parts of Middle Francia, that came to be known as Lotharingia, reigning there from 855 until his death in 869. He also ruled over Burgundy, holding from 855 just th ...

. The monastery declined between 1400 and 1464 and, with the death of the last chaplain, the area fell under the local bishop's authority.

Main sights

*Castle-palace, perhaps built as a noble mansion since the beginning. The merloned tower dates in fact from the 18th century. *Church of San Salvatore, only partially existing *Church of Madonna delle Grazie Cities and towns in Abruzzo {{Abruzzo-geo-stub