Arsita

Arsita is a medieval town and comune in Province of Teramo in the Abruzzo region of eastern Italy. It is located in the natural park known as the "Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park".

Geography

Arsita is a communal capital in the Province of Teramo in the Abruzzo Region of Italy. Arsita is located at an elevation of 470 metres (1,540 ft) in the hills along the river Fino, on the Eastern side of the Gran Sasso d'Italia, 36 kilometres (22 mi) from Teramo. In its territory there are pre-Roman remains from the 8th century B.C., and Roman coins, floors of buildings and small statues of the early Christian era.

History

Called Bacucco until 1905, Arsita rose in the later Middle Ages around a fortified castle called Castello Bacucco, which belonged originally to the Count of Chieti, then to the monks of Montecassino and finally to the Casa d'Este. The village was sold in 1583 to Margaret of Austria Farnese. Other historians claim that Bacucco took its name from the Roman word for the god Bacchus.