Population: 115,197 (2003)
Official website: Pescara
Wikipedia: Pescara
Maps:  MapQuest

Welcome to the mid Adriatic Coast of Italy, where the City of Pescara sits at the mouth of the Pescara River, which winds its way down from the highest peaks of the Appenine Mountains.

The river divides the city, the largest and most important Italian city on the Adriatic coast, into the Centrale (the ancient Castellamare Adriatico) on the northern side and Porta Nuova (the "new gate") on the southern side.  Both parts of the city have undergone redevelopment since World War II, when Pescara suffered heavy allied bombing, and a lot of destruction at the hands of the retreating Nazis.  The Porta Nuova district has seen the most recent development, including the building of modest "skyscrapers" and other modern buildings.

Most representative of the new port, is Pescara Centrale, one of the largest train stations in Europe, done in the Art Nouveau style.  Trains regularly and frequently arrive from - and depart for - Rome to the east, Ancona and Bologna to the north, and Bari to the south.

Pescara is spread along 20 kilometers (15 miles) of coast line, its most highly industrialized area contained in the area south from Pescara toward Chieti.  Not surprisingly, Pescara is a commercial sea port, but it is also Abruzzo's most important industrial center where electronics, heavy machinery, processed foods and cement are manufactured.  Travelers can catch ferries to Croatia and the Dalmatian Coast, on the opposite side of the Adriatic.

The most popular beaches are spread out along the littoral north of the city.  Hundreds of lidos - called "stabilimenti" in Pescara - offer beach access, the usual umbrellas and lounge chairs, but also an immense variety of restaurants, cafes, children's playgrounds, arcades and the like. 

If you like bumping shoulders with the semi-naked multitudes, you have arrived in paradise because thousands upon thousands of Italians, and additional thousands of other Europeans, vacation at Pescara during July and August.  They do not, by and large, come to explore "historical" Pescara, but to take the sun, frolic in the water, enjoy the night life, and, of course, shop in some of the most trendy boutiques outside Rome, Milan and Perguia.  Be forewarned - Pescara can be an expensive city for tourists, though slightly less so in the off season.

If you do wish to spend time off the beach, there is more to see than might meet the eye at first glance.  Pescara is as ancient a place as it gets in Italy and many ruins and monuments can be found, particularly in Vecchio Pescara.

The City was the birthplace of two of  Italy's most important writers, Gabrielle D'Annunzio, decadent and fascist, and Ennio Flaiano.   D'Annunzio's house now serves as a small museum on the Corso Manthone.

A very good museum, situated along the Via delle Caserme, The Museum of the Abruzzi People, contains, as the name suggests, art and artifacts from the entire Region of Abruzzo, Pescara included.  The Museum was built on the remaining parts of the legendary Fortress of Pescara, which has played such an important role in the city's history.

On Viale G. Marconi, look for the Museo e Pinacoteca Cascella, which displays the work of the Cascella family, who were prolific in the creation of Art Nouveau lithographic prints, paintings, ceramics and sculptures.

Also look for the Museo Paparella-Treccia, on the Via Piave, where you will see an amazing collection of decorated ceramics.

There are a lot of hotels in Pescara, catering to all budgets.  You can settle in for a few days if you like "resort" type towns, or you can pass through on the way to somewhere that suits you better.  Your choice!

Written by Vian Andrews, December 2006