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MANOPPELLO

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PARK TOWNS Abbateggio Ateleta Bolognano Campo di Giove Cansano Caramanico Terme Civitella M. R. Corfinio Fara San Martino Gamberale Guardiagrele Lama dei Peligni Lettopalena Manoppello Montenerodomo Pacentro Palena Palombaro Pennapiedimonte Pescocostanzo Pizzoferrato Popoli Pratola Peligna Pretoro Rapino Rivisondoli Roccacasale Rocca Pia Roccaraso Salle Sant' Eufemia San Valentino   Serramonacesca Sulmona Taranta Peligna Tocco da Casauria NEARBY TOWNS Alanno Cepagatti Cugnoli Nocciano Pietranico Roccamontepiano Rosciano Scafa Turrivalignani

Manoppello, in the province of Pescara, is a picturesque farming village of ancient origin, dating back to the Roman era.  The town's coat of arms includes a sheaf of wheat, the 'manoppio', from which the name Manoppello derives; the wheatsheaf is symbolic of the fertility of the land.  The town has 5600 inhabitants and is perched on a gentle foothill of the Majella mountains at an elevation of 650 feet, roughly 3 miles from Lettomanoppello.  It is on the right bank of the Alba River, a tributary of the Pescara River. The present day town dates back to the 8th century, when it was founded by the Lombards.  In medieval times a surrounding defensive wall was built, with four gates to the town.  A small section of this wall, called "Il muraglione," still exists in the San Leonardo section of the town, and the remains of the western gate, called "Lu Pulone," can still be seen (top right photo). Points of interest in the old town center include: Piazza Portici, so named because it is lined with 15 archways which form a portico or arcade (bottom center photo).  The square now commemorates those lost in the 1956 mining disaster at Marcinelle, Belgium, among whom were 24 from Manoppello.  (For more about the Marcinelle disaster, Click Here).  Also of interest are the Church of San Nicola, with its 13th century door, the church of San Pancrazio with its typical medieval exterior and its baroque interior, and several small 17th and 18th century palazzi with beautiful doorways and window casings carved from local stone. Manoppello is notable for the nearby 17h century Santuario di Volto Santo (Sanctuary of the Sacred Face), named for a piece of fabric on which is an image of Christ's face.  It is believed that the cloth covered Christ's face in death and that the image of his face was miraculously imprinted on the cloth. The relic is kept in the Church of Volto Santo (bottom left photo), part of a Capucine monastery which also provides a simple hotel which is inexpensive and covenient for visitors to the area (visible on the right in the photo). Also in Manoppello, outside the main part of the town, is the 13th century gothic church of S. Maria Arabona, built by the Cistercian monks in 1208 and considered one of the best examples of Cistercian architecture in Abruzzo (top left photo).  The church was named S. Maria Arabona because it was dedicated to St. Mary and was built over the site of an ancient altar dedicated to the Roman goddess Bona.  It includes several Abruzzese art treasures, including an  intricately and symbolically carved 13th century stone "easter candle," one of only two left in Abruzzo, as well as a 13th century carved stone tabernacle.

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