The ancient center, built within the Spanish walls, holds Gabriele D’Annunzio’s House, where the famous Italian poet was born. The Palazzo del Governo hosts the provincial library, with 600,000 volumes. Noteworthy is the Cathedral of St. Cetteus, with a 17th century painting of St. Francis attributed to Guercino. The Madonna dei Sette Dolori (“Madonna of Seven Pains”) is from 1757 and has a Neoclassical facade.
Pescara also houses the Museo delle Genti d’Abruzzo, located at Via delle Caserme 22. The Museum, which is among the most impressive in the region, collects in the numerous rooms all aspects of the life, traditions, and economy of the Abruzzo Region.
Pescara is the major city of its Abruzzo region, and is one of the most important economic, commercial, and tourist centers on the Adriatic coast. Featuring a shoreline that extends for more than 20 kilometers, Pescara is a popular seaside resort on the Adriatic Coast during summer. Situated in the sea at a short distance from the waterline there are many breakwaters made with large rocks, that were placed to preserve the shore from water-flood erosion. Along its shoreline, Pescara has many lidos that during summer season install beach umbrellas on the shore in order to rent them to customers in conjunction with deckchairs and other facilities; in Italian, they are also called stabilimenti balneari. These lidos often have attached seafood restaurants (opened all the year), or pizzerie, both “al piatto” and “al taglio”, playgrounds, bar and ice-cream parlours, while during summer season at night some turn themselves into stylish outdoor discos. There is a large shopping district with many fashion boutiques and a lively nightlife. Its university is named for Gabriele D’Annunzio (Università D’Annunzio). Between Pescara and nearby Chieti lies a major industrial district.
Between 1924 and 1961, Pescara hosted the Coppa Acerbo automobile race. Every July Pescara holds an International Jazz Festival: Pescara Jazz was the first Italian summer festival dedicated to jazz music. Since 1969, it has been one of the most important jazz festivals in Europe, as reported by the main dedicated international magazines.
Pescara was the birthplace of Gabriele D’Annunzio and Ennio Flaiano. Vittoria Colonna was the marchioness of Pescara. Pescara has been set to host the XVI Mediterranean Games in 2009, having defeated Rijeka, Croatia and Patras, Greece for the privilege.
The city is crossed by two pan-European roads, A14 Bologna – Taranto and A25 Torano – Pescara. Pescara has an airport (Aeroporto di Pescara, also known as Abruzzo International Airport), three train stations (Pescara Centrale, Pescara Porta Nuova, Pescara San Marco), and several bus lines. Pescara Centrale train station is the largest in Abruzzo, and one of the largest in the whole Europe. There is a direct bus line to Roma Tiburtina (Rome) via Pescara Centrale (about a two and a half hour ride). In the summer there are ferries and hydrofoils to Croatia run primarily by Jadrolinija and SNAV to Split and islands in central Dalmatia.
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Holiday in Central Italy – See Abruzzo, Marche, Molise
