The patron saint of Sulmona is Saint Pamphilus, celebrated on 28 April in the cathedral bearing his name: originally dedicated to Saint Mary, it underwent transformations as early as the 12th century and was at that time named after the town's patron. Struck and badly damaged by the 1706 earthquake, it was rebuilt in Baroque style, still partly visible today despite more recent restorations, while the outer Gothic facade, centred on Nicola Salvitti's portal with a 14th-century frescoed lunette, retains its original appearance. The old town is divided into seven medieval «sestieri», each with its own coat of arms and history, whose representatives compete every summer in the medieval Giostra Cavalleresca tournament, once held twice a year until 1656, when it was suspended for lack of knights and because of the plague, reviving only in 1995.
Located in the heart of Abruzzo, against the backdrop of the Maiella national park, Sulmona is known worldwide for its centuries-old tradition of producing confetti (sugared almonds), celebrated at the Museum of the Art and Technology of Confetti-making, housed since 1988 in the old Pelino factory. The town was the birthplace of the Latin poet Publius Ovidius Naso, the singer of love and the Metamorphoses, later banished to Tomis, on the Black Sea, by the emperor Augustus.
