Vasto

The Città del Vasto or Vasto (from the Greek Ἱστόνιον, Latin Histonium) is a town and comune on the Adriatic coast of the Province of Chieti in southern Abruzzo, Italy. It was also called in the Middle Ages as Guastaymonis or Il Vasto d'Ammone and also Waste d'Aimone. Renamed Istonio under the Fascist Rule, it took the current name of Vasto in 1944. In the local dialect it is called Lu Uas'te, that is Il Vasto.

The population, according to ISTAT's 2011 Census, was of 38,747 inhabitants, making it the 206th largest municipality (comune) in Italy out of 8,093 municipalities and the 7th largest in the Abruzzo region.

History

Classical

According to tradition, the town was founded by Diomedes, the Greek hero. The earliest archaeological relics date to 1300 BC. Histonium was one of the key towns of the Frentani, located on the Adriatic coast, about 9 kilometres (6 mi) south of the promontory called Punta della Penna.

The city was noted by all the geographers among the towns of the Frentani and apparently under Julius Caesar. did not obtain the rank of a colonia, but continued to bear the title of a municipium, as we learn from some inscriptions found. Under the Roman Empire, the municipium of Histonium was a flourishing and opulent municipal town, and this is further attested by the existing remains, which include the vestiges of a theatre, baths, and other public edifices, besides numerous mosaics, statues, and columns of granite or marble. (Romanelli, vol. iii. p. 32.)