Loreto Aprutino
| Loreto Aprutino | ||
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| Comune | ||
| Comune di Loreto Aprutino | ||
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 Loreto Aprutino
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| Coordinates: 42°26′N 13°59′E / 42.433°N 13.983°ECoordinates: 42°26′N 13°59′E / 42.433°N 13.983°E | ||
| Country | Italy | |
| Region | Abruzzo | |
| Province / Metropolitan city | Pescara (PE) | |
| Frazioni | Acquamorta, Belvedere, Bufarale, Burlesco, Camposacro, Cancelli, Cardito, Cartiera, Casafora, Castelluccio, Cecalupo, Collatuccio, Collecera, Collefreddo, Collepalma, Colle Carpini, Colle Cavaliere, Colle Ospedale, Cordano, Cupello, Farina, Ferrauto, Fiorano, Fiume, Fontemaggio, Fonte Murata, Fornace, Galliano, Gallo, Gomma, Lauriana, Madonna degli Angeli, Moscone, Muretto, Palazzo, Pallante, Pantano, Passo Cordone, Paterno, Piano della morte, Poggio Ragone, Pozzelle, Pretore, Pretosa, Remartello, Rielli, Rotacesta, Sablanico, Saletto, Salmacina, San Domenico, San Giovanni, San Pellegrino, San Quirico, Santa Maria in Piano, Scannella inferiore, Scannella Superiore, Scrizzetto, Sgariglia, Silvi, Valle Passeri, Valle Stella, Vicenne, Villa Erminia | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 59 km2 (23 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 307 m (1,007 ft) | |
| Population (1 January 2013) | ||
| • Total | 7,549 | |
| • Density | 130/km2 (330/sq mi) | |
| Demonym(s) | Loretesi, Lauretani, Rotesi | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Postal code | 65014 | |
| Dialing code | 085 | |
| Patron saint | San Zopito | |
| Saint day | Monday after Pentecost | |
| Website | Official website | |
Loreto Aprutino (Lûrëtë in Abruzzese dialect) is a comune and town in the Province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of central Italy.
The presence of necropoli at Colle-Fiorano and at Farina-Cardito suggest that a significant pre-Roman settlement once existed nearby the modern town. The Vestini, following their defeat by the Romans in the Social War, eventually built a town around the castellum and called it Lauretum, because of the many bay laurels (laurus) that then grew in the area. With the decline of the Romans, the area came under the control of Norman counts, and the modern town grew up around a castle and Benedictine abbey in the 11th century. In the 13th century, the d'Aquino family - of Lombard nobility - became lords of the town, and though there are legends that Thomas of Aquinas once took residence in Loreto, evidence of this is obscure.
The origin of the name "Loreto" is difficult to establish conclusively, but among various theories, two seem the most likely. The first is that migrants from ancient Latium, - specifically, from a place called Laurentum - were the founders of a settlement that became known as Loreto. The second, more commonly accepted idea is that the name comes from the Latin word laurum (laurel) which referred to a laurel forest that was in the area at the time of the Romans. The town was built around a castle and abbey, established by Benedictine monks around the year 1000, and came to political prominence in the eleventh century with the establishment of a county by the Normans. The town would be a stronghold of Swabian and Angevin nobility until the fourteenth century, when a series of great houses would rule Loreto and the surrounding countryside up to the abolition of feudalism: among others, the d'Aquino, the d'Avalos, the Caracciolo, as well as Margaret Habsburg, and Alessandro de' Medici.
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Wikipedia