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SANT' EUFEMIA

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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

Sant'Eufemia a Maiella, in the province of Pescara, is located in the Maiella National Park at an elevation of 2700 feet in a valley enclosed by the western slopes of the Maiella and the northeastern slopes of the Morrone mountains.  Its population is 387 inhabitants. In ancient times the town was named Santa Femi; in 1300 its name was Santa Fumia; in 1863, by decree of King Victor Emanuele II, it was named Sant'Eufemia a Maiella.  The town was part of Caramanico Terme until the 19th century.  In 1064 Count Berardo gave the church of Sant'Eufemia and surrounding land at Caramanico to the Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria; this was the original nucleus of the town.  This fief became the possession of Boamondo, Count of Manoppello, in 1145; in 1301 it belonged to the Ughelli family and then to Giacomo Arcucci, Count of Minervino.  Upon the death of Arcucci in 1389, it became the property of the D'Aquino family. Sant'Eufemia is located in a setting of great natural beauty, the Orientata Lama Bianca Nature Reserve, which is a large forested reserve encompassing the surrounding slopes of the Maiella.  It is a perfect habitat for the goshawk, which specializes in hunting its prey throughout the dense forest. The caves of Sant'Eufemia are another natural attraction: la Grotta dei Lucidi, la Grotta delle Femmine, la Grotta dei Briganti and la Grotta Zappano. The 17th century parish church of Sant'Eufemia is dedicated to San Bartolomeo Apostolo, and the church is architecturally the most important building in the town.  It has three naves and is flanked by a belltower.  The stone facade is masterfully decorated with many elements, and inside the church is a a 14-foot high wooden Tabernacle decorated in silver. During World War II Sant'Eufemia was occupied by the Germans; in September 1943 the town, like many other Abruzzese centers, began a long and difficult evacuation which lasted until the spring of 1944.  The people took refuge in various places, including the caves in the area - the Grotta delle Femmine, the Grotta dei Corvi and the Grotta dei Briganti.  Old farmhouses were also used for shelter; the winter was long and harsh, and the people who had left their town and homes spent sad and difficult moments.  Among the victims of the war in Sant'Eufemia was Nicola Mancini, who was shot to death and dragged through the streets tied to a cart; a young woman who had sheltered him in her home when the Germans arrived suffered the same fate.  Many of the town's people were forced to go to Popoli to work in the German military hospital.  Others were forced to labor at building a cableway for war materials on Monte Amaro, and  to help build a fortress at Monte Cassino.  This was an incredibly difficult time for the people of Sant'Eufemia and for the people of so many other Abruzzese towns.

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San Valentino