What is Penne known for?

Streets, palazzi and pavements built almost entirely in red brick, the tone that earned the nickname the small Siena. Awarded the Silver Medal of Civic Merit in 2006 for civilian sacrifices during heavy Allied bombing in the Second World War. Capital of the Vestini Italic people from at least 300 BC, defeated by Rome in the Social War around 89 BC.

Penne is a comune in the province of Pescara, Abruzzo region of Italy, about 38 kilometers from Pescara.

Abruzzo · Pescara

Penne

The brick citybetween the Tavo and Fino, ancient capital of the Vestini, rebuilt after Allied bombing and awarded the Silver Medal of Civic Merit.

38 km / 24 mi

Nearest hub (Pescara)

11,165

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Penne sitson four hills between the Tavo and Fino rivers, twenty-five kilometers from the Adriatic. Of pre-Roman origin, the town was the capital of the Vestini Italic people no later than 300 BC; in around 89 BC the Vestini and other Italic tribes were defeated by Rome in the Social War. The historic centre is built almost entirely of red brick. Streets, palazzi, churches and pavements all share the same warm tone, which earned Penne the nickname Città del Mattone, the City of Bricks, and the literary tag the small Siena. The Duomo, dedicated to Saint Massimo of Aveia, stands on a tenth-century crypt; its terracotta façade was rebuilt after the war, but the crypt, the portal, the thirteenth-century rose window and the fifteenth-century bell tower belong to the original Romanesque-Gothic phase. Allied bombing levelled large parts of the town in the Second World War, and in 2006 Penne received the Silver Medal of Civic Merit for what its civilians suffered.

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Gallery

9 photos · scroll →

Known for

Duomo (Cattedrale di San Massimo)
Concathedral of the Pescara-Penne archdiocese built over a tenth-century crypt, with a thirteenth-century rose window and fifteenth-century bell tower.
Museo Diocesano
Diocese museum inside the Duomo complex, holding liturgical objects, paintings and sculpture from across the Pescara-Penne network.
Chiesa di Santa Maria in Colleromano
Twelfth-century church outside the historic core, one of the earliest religious buildings preserved in the Penne territory.
Chiesa di Sant'Agostino
Augustinian church with a notable historic bell-tower, on the main brick artery of the centro storico.
Centro storico in mattoni
Streets, houses and pavements all in red brick, the continuous warm tone that earned Penne the nickname Città del Mattone.
Chiesa di San Domenico
Dominican church on the higher ridge of the centro storico, with a brick façade and a Baroque interior rebuilt after war damage.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the strong stretch. May and September are the best months on the brick streets, when the late light glows on the walls and the olive harvest gives the corso its smell. July and August can climb past thirty-three degrees and the centro empties from two to six; the brick holds heat long into the night. October brings olive harvest into the Tavo-Fino slopes, with the Città dell'Olio mills working through November. The Duomo lit at dusk from inside, against the brick wall of the rest of the city, is the standard Penne winter photograph. The patron San Massimo festa falls 4 May.