CHIETI AND VASTO, ARCHDIOCESE OF. - In the Abruzzi, C. is a provincial capital. The archdiocese has an area of 2,500 sq km, 138 parishes, with 215 diocesan priests and 92 regulars, for a population of 350,000 inhabitants, all Catholic (1948).
C., the ancient Theate, capital of the Marrucini, is situated on a mountain at whose base flows the river Pescara. The first document for the diocese is a letter of Pope John VIII to Theodoric, bishop of Theate, of 20 Nov. 879. Certainly the episcopal see had already been established there for some time, and despite the silence of the documents it can be traced back to the 4th century. However, the claims regarding the episcopate of St. Justin Martyr, patron of the city, as well as regarding a list of the most ancient bishops, are without foundation. Having extended its jurisdiction over Lanciano, Ortona and V., illustrated in the 16th century by the bishop Giampietro Carafa (later Paul IV), it was elevated by Clement VII in 1526 to a metropolis with the suffragans Lanciano, Penne and Atri. In 1570 Ortona was created a diocese and then united to Lanciano; then V. (Istonio) was separated in 1853, which however retained it united to itself until the present. C. is immediately subject to the Holy See.
The most illustrious abbey in the territory of C. was S. Salvatore alla Maiella, earlier than the 11th century, which was a possession of the Roman Church, later enjoyed by the Chapter of St. Peter; it was ruined in 1598. Worthy of remembrance: the abbey of S. Liberatore alla Maiella with the ruins of the temple, a typical 11th-century Abruzzese Romanesque building, with some surviving frescoes; S. Pietro di Vallebona of the Celestines, of the 12th century, which stood not far from the present-day village of Manoppello, founded by the counts of the place.
The cathedral of C., built above the ancient one, dedicated to St. Thomas and St. Justin and of which the beautiful crypt has remained, was rebuilt after the year 1000; the partial later reconstructions were carried out on the original forms. Notable: the church of Sts. Peter and Paul raised above a pagan temple and a fair group of Gothic churches: S. Agata, S. Antonio and S. Francesco. Among the monumental sacred buildings of V. is remembered the cathedral (St. Joseph) rebuilt in 1896 but which preserves from the ancient one the portal and the rose window in the facade, of the 13th century.
In the archive of the Curia there is an abundance of papers relating to the numerous abbeys, though not earlier than the 13th century. Those that concern the Church of Chieti are in the Capitular archive and various ones in the Municipal one. - See Pl. XCIII.
For the history of V.: v. VASTO.
Bibliography6 works
Serafino Prete