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| Palmoli |
| Provincia di Chieti, Regione d'Abruzzo |
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A Brief History
Tomes of material can surely be written about the area as it has been inhabited since the most ancient of times.
However, here I will give a brief synopsis.
The name Palmoli dates back to ancient times when people began to shelter together on the hill and called their home
Palmula Monteverde. The inhabitants of the area were mostly shepherds.
During ancient times, Palmoli was under the dominion of the Frentani and later became part of the Roman Empire. The
people moved to the mountain, as mentioned before, after the fall of the Roman Empire as protection from marauders
such as the Huns, Saracens, and Normans. The area then saw the subsequent arrival of the Lombards, Normans,
Swabians, Angevins and Aragonese. After the Spanish domination ended in 1707, the area was under the control of
Austria and then the Bourbons, until the time of Napoleon. The Bourbons again took control after the Congress of
Vienna in 1815 up until the time of the Risorgimento and Italian unification.
During the early middle ages, the Benedictine order was very important in the region, establishing numerous
monasteries. The remains of one such monastery are found in the woods around Palmoli. It was orignally the Abbey of
San Grimaldo.
Around the year 1000, in order to defend themselves from marauding bands, they took shelter at the top of the
mountain and thus was born the town, with its typical structure of surrounding walls and castle. The oldest part of the
castle, the tower, was built by Pandolfo di Sangro in 1095. Along with other towers in the area, it was used as a lookout
post to alert the surrounding towns of danger.
The remainder of the castle was completed in two phases, the Palazzo Marchesale around 1400 and the San Carlo chapel
in 1772. Today the tower is home to a cultural museum that also contains archeological finds and traces from the
Roman period.
Inside the town is the Santa Maria delle Grazie church with its bell tower that dates back to around 1300. It contains
many statues and decorations along with an organ from the 17th century and two holy water fonts in which are
sculpted a serpent and a fish. The church is also home to the chapel of San Valentino where the body of the saint is
conserved, having been given to the town during the reign of Pope Leo XII. See below for more about Saint Valentine.
Below town is the Sanctuary of the Madonna S.S. del Carmine (Madonna of Mt. Carmel), dating from the 13th century
with its college founded by Franciscan monks in 1583. Today it is home to the Sacra Famiglia. During the Second
World War, the college was occupied by the German army for use as a hospital.
San Valentino and Palmoli
Palmoli’s devotion to Saint Valentine slowly grew until it had outgrown that of its ancient patron saint, San Grimaldo and
its other patron saint, Sant’Antonio di Padova. On March 10, 1736, Saint Valentine was voted Patron Saint of Palmoli by
unanimous vote of the clergy, the citizens and the Marchese di Gagliati, Baron of Palmoli.
The town already owned a sacred relic of Saint Valentine, the Sacred Arm, given to the church Santa Maria delle Grazie in
1705.
During the reign of Pope Leo XII, the town obtained the remains of Saint Valentine, authenticated by Cardinal Giuseppe
Perugino, through the efforts of the Marchese of Palmoli. On November 18, 1824, the sacred Urn containing the
remains was transported by sea from Rome to Naples, then overland to Trivento where it was met by a crowd of
devotees, ready to escort the Saint to his new home in Palmoli.
According to legend, the people of Trivento wanted to keep the sacred relic in their town, however, San Valentino raised
his arm as if to say “To Palmoli, to Palmoli”, and off they went. When they reached the town of Mafalda, also devoted to
San Valentino, they too wanted to keep the Saint’s remains there. After much discussion, they devised a test. They
hooked the carriage containing the saint to two untried oxen. The decision was made that if the oxen took the road
toward Mafalda, the saint would stay in Mafalda. If they took the road to Palmoli, the saint would continue his journey to
Palmoli. And so, the oxen were hooked to the carriage and, as you can imagine, they took the road towards Palmoli.
Thus the journey continued, reaching Palmoli on December 22, 1824.
In 1898, construction began on the Saint Valentine chapel in the church and it was later inaugurated in 1904.
Tomes of material can surely be written about the area as it has been inhabited since the most ancient of times.
However, here I will give a brief synopsis.
The name Palmoli dates back to ancient times when people began to shelter together on the hill and called their home
Palmula Monteverde. The inhabitants of the area were mostly shepherds.
During ancient times, Palmoli was under the dominion of the Frentani and later became part of the Roman Empire. The
people moved to the mountain, as mentioned before, after the fall of the Roman Empire as protection from marauders
such as the Huns, Saracens, and Normans. The area then saw the subsequent arrival of the Lombards, Normans,
Swabians, Angevins and Aragonese. After the Spanish domination ended in 1707, the area was under the control of
Austria and then the Bourbons, until the time of Napoleon. The Bourbons again took control after the Congress of
Vienna in 1815 up until the time of the Risorgimento and Italian unification.
During the early middle ages, the Benedictine order was very important in the region, establishing numerous
monasteries. The remains of one such monastery are found in the woods around Palmoli. It was orignally the Abbey of
San Grimaldo.
Around the year 1000, in order to defend themselves from marauding bands, they took shelter at the top of the
mountain and thus was born the town, with its typical structure of surrounding walls and castle. The oldest part of the
castle, the tower, was built by Pandolfo di Sangro in 1095. Along with other towers in the area, it was used as a lookout
post to alert the surrounding towns of danger.
The remainder of the castle was completed in two phases, the Palazzo Marchesale around 1400 and the San Carlo chapel
in 1772. Today the tower is home to a cultural museum that also contains archeological finds and traces from the
Roman period.
Inside the town is the Santa Maria delle Grazie church with its bell tower that dates back to around 1300. It contains
many statues and decorations along with an organ from the 17th century and two holy water fonts in which are
sculpted a serpent and a fish. The church is also home to the chapel of San Valentino where the body of the saint is
conserved, having been given to the town during the reign of Pope Leo XII. See below for more about Saint Valentine.
Below town is the Sanctuary of the Madonna S.S. del Carmine (Madonna of Mt. Carmel), dating from the 13th century
with its college founded by Franciscan monks in 1583. Today it is home to the Sacra Famiglia. During the Second
World War, the college was occupied by the German army for use as a hospital.
San Valentino and Palmoli
Palmoli’s devotion to Saint Valentine slowly grew until it had outgrown that of its ancient patron saint, San Grimaldo and
its other patron saint, Sant’Antonio di Padova. On March 10, 1736, Saint Valentine was voted Patron Saint of Palmoli by
unanimous vote of the clergy, the citizens and the Marchese di Gagliati, Baron of Palmoli.
The town already owned a sacred relic of Saint Valentine, the Sacred Arm, given to the church Santa Maria delle Grazie in
1705.
During the reign of Pope Leo XII, the town obtained the remains of Saint Valentine, authenticated by Cardinal Giuseppe
Perugino, through the efforts of the Marchese of Palmoli. On November 18, 1824, the sacred Urn containing the
remains was transported by sea from Rome to Naples, then overland to Trivento where it was met by a crowd of
devotees, ready to escort the Saint to his new home in Palmoli.
According to legend, the people of Trivento wanted to keep the sacred relic in their town, however, San Valentino raised
his arm as if to say “To Palmoli, to Palmoli”, and off they went. When they reached the town of Mafalda, also devoted to
San Valentino, they too wanted to keep the Saint’s remains there. After much discussion, they devised a test. They
hooked the carriage containing the saint to two untried oxen. The decision was made that if the oxen took the road
toward Mafalda, the saint would stay in Mafalda. If they took the road to Palmoli, the saint would continue his journey to
Palmoli. And so, the oxen were hooked to the carriage and, as you can imagine, they took the road towards Palmoli.
Thus the journey continued, reaching Palmoli on December 22, 1824.
In 1898, construction began on the Saint Valentine chapel in the church and it was later inaugurated in 1904.
| A brief history |
| Torre della Fara - Celenza sul Trigno Lombard Period |
| Abbey of San Grimaldo - Palmoli |
| English |
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