Caramanico Terme is a ''

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 ...

'' and town in the

province of Pescara The province of Pescara (; Abruzzese: ') is a province in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pescara, which has a population of 119,483 inhabitants. As of 2017, it has a total population of 319,936 inhabitants over an area o ...

, located in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Nestled on a hilltop, it lies near the confluence of the Orfento and Orta rivers, between the

Monte Morrone The Montagne del Morrone are a mountain group in Abruzzo, central Italy, part of the Apennines. Overlooking the town of Sulmona, they are bounded by the Valle Peligna, the river Aterno and the Majella massif. They are included into the Majella N ...

and

Majella The Maiella (or Majella) is a massif in the Central Apennines, in Abruzzo, central Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Penins ...

mountains. It is one of

I Borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

History

The town takes its name from ''cara'', meaning rock and/or ''arimannia'', a Lombard establishment in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Then the name Terme was added in 1960 because of the presence of a spa nearby. The present settlement is recorded since Lombard times. Then it underwent a remarkable development in the 14th-15th centuries, under the D'Aquino family, and in that period many important monuments were built. In 1706, an earthquake nearby destroyed the town.

Main sights

Salle -Castello Genova- 2007 by-Raboe 04

* Church of S. Maria Maggiore (15th century), with a Gothic exterior and an ogival portal with a depiction of the Coronation of the Virgin (1476). The exterior has also depictions of apostles, pilgrims and singers with 15th century musical instruments. The Assumption Chapel (17th century) has a Baroque interior. * Romanesque church of St. Tommaso, founded in the 13th century in honor of Thomas of Canterbury. It was built above a 9th-century

pieve In Italy in the Middle Ages, a ''pieve'' (, ; ; : ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. ''Pieve'' is also an Italian and Corsican term signifying the medieval ecclesiastical/a ...

. It has a nave and two aisles, with different levels. The façade has a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

and single mullioned windows, three portals and four semi-colons from a never built portico. The side portals have with floreal decorations, while the central one has a high-relief of the Twelve Apostles and Christ Enthroned (1118). The interior, with a nave and aisles divided by composite columns (right) and square columns (left). The interior houses also a

Corinthian column The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

(known as ''Colonna santa'') which has alleged miraculous properties. *Archaeological Museum "P. Barrasso" *Museum of Abruzzo and Italy Fauna * Hermitage of San Giovanni all'Orfento

References

External links

Photo Gallery

{{authority control Spa towns in Italy Borghi più belli d'Italia