City of Sulmona - Italy

- The Cathedral of St Panfilo
The wonderful Cathedral of St Panfilo, the Patron Saint of Sulmona, is one of the most beautiful churches in the city. The former medieval building was built and restored several times throughout the ages: today it is a mixture of romanesque-gothic and baroque art. The main portal, dating back to the XIV century, is Gothic and it shows in the lunetta a fresco by Leonardo from Teramo.
Inside the Cathedral a romanesque double colonnade stands as it was in the past; in the right nave you can see a XIII-century wooden Crucifix. In the XI-century crypt visitors can admire a beautiful XII-century basrelief (Madonna with Holy Child) and a XV-century silver bust of St Panfilo.

- The Church of the Holy Annunziata
Together with the adjacent church, which was completely rebuilt after an earthquake in 1706, the huge complex is a synthesis of four centuries of art from Sulmona, i.e. a mixture of late Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles.
The big soaring columns of the church's facade, the wonderful mullioned window with three lights, the flowered ornaments of the first portal, the elegant mullioned windows with two lights and the sculptures in the central portal show a combination of local and foreign - Lombard and Tuscan - art tradition.
In the past the palace was a hospital and the magistrate's house, today it is the seat of the Town Museum. The bell-tower, 65,50 meters high, was built in the second half of the XVI century.

- Publio Ovidio Nasone (Latin Poet)
In the middle of XX September Square you can see a bronze statue of Ovidio, one of the greatest Latin poets, born on 20 March 43 B.C. He had three wives. He was a highly educated man, who wrote a lot of works. They say "even his feet could read"; that's why Ovidio is portrayed with his own feet on two books, i.e. to symbolize his thorough knowledge of his time's culture. At one corner of the same square where you can see the statue of Ovidio it is located the small palace of Giovanni dalle Palle, a Venetian merchant; the palace dates back to 1484. The building at the end of the square, once a Jesuit monastery, is today the seat of Liceo Classico (a secondary school with an emphasis on humanities).

- The Church of St Francesco della Scarpa
This church was named after the Francescani monks who served it and who wore, unlike the so-called "zoccolanti" (i.e. monks who wore clogs), shoes. It was probably built by Charles II D'Angiò in 1290 over a smaller church dedicated to Maddalena. It was severely damaged by some earthquakes in 1456 and in 1706 and after that it was rebuilt. In the past the church had three naves. Today it still has the Romanesque ogival portal but part of the church's side and of an apse (see image) are separated from the church.

- The Swabian Aqueduct
It was built in 1256 under Manfredi from Swabia in order to provide Sulmona with water; its 21 pointed stone arches are still well-preserved. By looking at it from Garibaldi Square you can see the Church of St Francesco in the background: they form a really impressive complex. The Aqueduct ends in the Old Man's Fountain (fontana "Del Vecchio"); it was named after the De Vecchis family, who contributed to its construction.