A siege here even changed the calendar. From 24 April to 16 May 1557 the French of the duke of Guise pressed the rock and had to leave without taking it: the resistance so impressed Philip II's strategists that the townspeople were freed of taxes for forty years, the buildings and the castle were rebuilt at the crown's expense, and in 1589 Civitella was raised to the rank of Civitas with the title Fidelissima. Since that 16 May the town has also had a new patron saint, Sant'Ubaldo, in place of San Lorenzo. The name, on the other hand, does not come from the war of the Tronto as is often said: it was already in use by 1544 at the latest.
The fortress above the town is the largest in Italy, and it was the last thing of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to fall. In 1806, defended by the Irish major Matteo Wade, it had already held out four months of siege against the Napoleonic army before capitulating with the honours of war. Then, in October 1860, the army of Victor Emmanuel II arrived: the Bourbon soldiers held out two hundred days, while their king had already given in at Gaeta and the rest of the kingdom had been annexed. Civitella surrendered on 20 March 1861, three days after the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed.
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📅 Every year, on 16 May; 25 to 27 April brings the feast of Santa Maria dei Lumi
Civitella del Tronto celebrates Saint Ubald on 16 May, a patron who more recently replaced Saint Lawrence. From 25 to 27 April, the feast of Santa Maria dei Lumi is held.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Civitella del Tronto, but an easy day trip away.
