Vasto (ancient Greek: Ἱστόνιον, Latin: Histonium) is a little town by the sea on the opposite side of Rome, in the centre of Italy. The town is on the Adriatic coast, in southern Abruzzo.
The old town features a number of buildings and churches dating from the 12th-18th centuries, including:
- St. Joseph Cathedral (Cattedrale di San Giuseppe)
- the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, the largest and oldest church in town (mentioned in a document as early as 1195), with a quite tall bell tower. Damaged by the Turks in 1566 and by a fire in 1645, it received a thorough restructuring in 1735 in which it got the current shape. It hosts one of alleged thorns belonging to Jesus' Crown of Thorns (Holy Thorn).
- the Castle Caldoresco
- the D'Avalos Palace and the Civic Museums
The town lies on a hill going down towards ‘the Marina’ (the beach). The beach resort town of Marina di Vasto offers a large sandy beach and several hotels and other facilities for tourists.
Further north, the coast becomes rocky and features interesting pebble and stone beaches and coves, as well as the typical Trabocchi, ancient wooden fishing machines resembling stilt houses, typical of the Southern Abruzzo coast.
Amongst the natural areas is the protected natural area Riserva Naturale di Punta Aderci, whose beaches were voted in 2014 third of the top 20 beaches in Italy.
The old town