Schiavi di Abruzzo is a

hill town A hill town is a type of a Human settlement, settlement built upon hills. Often protected by defensive walls, steep embankments, or cliffs, such hilltop settlements provided natural defenses for their inhabitants. The term "hill town" is occasio ...

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 ...

, central

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 located in the

Apennine Mountains 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 ...

, in the southernmost portion of the Abruzzo region, on border with the

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

region. It is , from the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

, and from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Geography

The historical center of the town is situated at the highest point of a mountain peak, at , and there are population centers or administrative divisions in the valleys on three sides of the mountain. Three quarters of the population lives in these surrounding valleys. Heavy snowfall can occur in winter months.

Language and dialect

The town has a historical Italian dialect known as Schiavese. For many centuries there have been different dialects even between towns in the same vicinity. With the advent of television, the dialects have become less prevalent.

Population

The population in 1861 was 3,657. As was the case of the rural areas of

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

, the town experienced a mass immigration (

Italian diaspora The Italian diaspora (, ) is the large-scale emigration of Italians from Italy. There were two major Italian diasporas in Italian history. The first diaspora began around 1880, two decades after the Risorgimento, Unification of Italy, and ended ...

) to North and South America between 1861 and 1914. This immigration lead an abrupt decline of the agricultural economy. Nonetheless the population peaked in 1961 at 4,526. Since then there has been a steady decline due to residents having sought employment in the Italian cities (mostly Rome), and also throughout Europe.

History

The first written mention of the town dates back to

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 ...

, in the first half of the 11th century. Also, the name Schavis and Sclavi appeared in the Libro delle decime (

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

book) of 1309 and of 1328. It is commonly known that there was a colony of

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

that became a fief of Roberto da Sclavo, from which the name of the town was probably derived. From 1130 the town was part of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

, and later of

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

. From 1626 until 1806 the town was also a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of th
Caracciolo di SantoBuono
a branch the Caracciolo

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, and administered from

San Buono San Buono is a ''comune'' and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Penins ...

, a town away. From 1816 to 1861, Schiavi was part of the

Kingdom of Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and land area ...

, then becoming part of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

, until 1946 when Italy became a republic.

People

Almerindo Portfolio Almerindo Portfolio (23 May 1878 – 23 January 1966) was an Italian-born American banker and financier. He was treasurer of New York City under Mayor Fiorello La Guardia.

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

of New York City * Auro D'Alba, poet
See a poem he wrote about Schiavi

Main sights

*Templi Italici archaeological site. In the valley below the town are the ruins of two temples dating from the period of

Classical Antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

, from about 3 BC. Known as the Templi Italici, referring to the

Italic people The concept of Italic peoples is widely used in linguistics and historiography of ancient Italy. In a strict sense, commonly used in linguistics, it refers to the Osco-Umbrians and Latino-Faliscans, speakers of the Italic languages, a subgroup of ...

of whom the

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic peoples, Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan language, Oscan-speaking Osci, people, who originated as an offsh ...

, who lived here before the Roman conquest, were a subgroup. *Purgatorio Park, including walks among pine trees. *A replica of the Grotto of the Madonna of Lourdes is being constructed in the valley just below the town and the Italic Temples.

Transportation

The best access is
by car from Rome
Route from Rome to Schiavi di AbruzzoGoogle Maps.
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References

External links

Municipal website

Archeological details of the Italic Temple by the regional cultural heritage authority (in Italian)

Schiavi Links for USAHistory (in Italian): Schiavi di Abruzzo, Documenti e Storia, edited by L. Porfilio and P. Falasca, 1994
* Local wind power installation (in Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schiavi Di Abruzzo Cities and towns in Abruzzo