Province of Pescara | |
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Province | |
Map highlighting the location of the province of Pescara in Italy |
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Country | Italy |
Region | Abruzzo |
Capital(s) | Pescara |
Comuni | 46 |
Government | |
• President | Antonio Di Marco |
Area | |
• Total | 1,225 km2 (473 sq mi) |
Population (2012) | |
• Total | 324,559 |
• Density | 260/km2 (690/sq mi) |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Postal code | 65010-65014, 65016-65017, 65019-65020, 65022-65024, 65026-65029 |
Telephone prefix | 085 |
Vehicle registration | PE |
ISTAT | 068 |
The province of Pescara (Italian: provincia di Pescara) is a province in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city Pescara, which has a population of 121,366 inhabitants. As of 2015, it has a total population of 322,759 inhabitants over an area of 1,230.33 square kilometres (475.03 sq mi), giving it a population density of 262.34 inhabitants per square kilometre. The provincial president is Antonio Di Marco and the province contains 46 comuni.
Pescara's first indicators of settlement date to 1500 BCE, but it is unknown which tribe first settled in the city. It was conquered by the Romans in 214 BCE and remained "Aternum" after the city allied itself with Punic Carthaginian military commander Hannibal. The Romans developed the city and it became an important location for shipping and trade occurring between the Balkans and Rome; the Romans made the city of Pescara the capital of the Valeria region. During the barbarian raids it was almost completely destroyed, and it developed into a fishing village named Piscaria.
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor turned Piscaria into a military fort named Pescara during the sixteenth century, and Pescara survived a series of invasions from Turkish Muslims. It was ruled by the Austrians for a short period of the 1700s before falling under the control of the House of Bourbon; the House of Bourbon made it a component of Abruzzo Citra. It joined the Kingdom of Italy in 1860 and was still mainly fortified and Pescara was made the capital of Abruzzo in 1927. In World War II, 78% of the city was destroyed by bombers.
The province of Pescara is the central of four provinces in the region of Abruzzo on the eastern coast of Italy. It is bounded to the northeast by the Adriatic Sea. The Province of Teramo lies to the north and the Province of L'Aquila to the west and south. To the south and east lies the Province of Chieti. The provincial capital is the city and port of Pescara, situated at the mouth of the Aterno-Pescara River.