The current Gabriele Rossetti’s House is a 1952 building constructed on the site of Gabriele Rossetti’s birthplace. Initially used as a municipal library, it now serves as a research center and is not open to the public.
Its significance lies more in its beautiful location than the historical value of the building itself. However, the “House of Gabriele Rossetti” is still recognized as a national monument and has long been an important symbol of Vasto.
To understand why, we must look back to late 19th-century Vasto, when Gabriele Rossetti was regarded as one of the most prominent patriotic figures of the Italian unification movement. He was also celebrated as a great poet, with the poet Carducci even calling him “Italy’s Tyrtaeus.”
Rossetti’s veneration was especially important for Vasto, a city that had lost its capital status following the transition from the Kingdom of Naples to the Kingdom of Italy. Unfortunately, there was no physical place to honor him.
Rossetti had left for Naples at the age of 21 as a student, and there were no memorials dedicated to his achievements in the city. For this reason, Vasto quickly named the city’s theater in his honor. However, his birthplace—the only “relic” of Rossetti’s presence in Vasto—became the main object of devotion.
By the early 20th century, postcards of Vasto often depicted the ruins of Rossetti’s birthplace, which stood near the Lame Walls by Porta Catena. When the house collapsed in 1919, the entire town mourned the loss of this beloved symbol.
An article in the newspaper La Tribuna on February 4, 1920, described the event that, though not resulting in casualties, clearly shook the pride of the entire town:
“What remained desolate and abandoned beneath the rubble was, under the ruins, the small area filled with ancient and deep emotional significance for the soul of our people, who see in Gabriele Rossetti the greatest representative of their civic glory…”
The collapse of Rossetti’s house, at the peak of his popularity, had two major effects.
On one hand, it motivated the people of Vasto, especially emigrants of Vasto origin, to fund the long-discussed monument to the poet. On the other hand, it made the local administration aware of the need to revitalize the oldest part of the city and to reinforce the Lame Walls, particularly the section between Palazzo d’Avalos and Porta Catena.
The reinforcement work was completed relatively quickly, leading to the creation of the promenade that remains one of Vasto’s most celebrated features.
Rossetti’s birthplace was declared a national monument in 1924, the same year the bronze statue of Rossetti was cast, now located at the center of the square that bears his name.
After the political changes brought about by the Lateran Pacts of 1929, which recognized Catholicism as the state religion, Rossetti’s figure was largely forgotten. Consequently, the reconstruction of his birthplace was delayed until the outbreak of World War II.
In the 1950s, following the critical republication of Rossetti’s works by Pompeo Giannantonio, a professor at the University of Naples, interest in the poet was rekindled. As a result, the local administration decided to rebuild Rossetti’s birthplace, which was constructed in its modern form.
In 1960, the Civic Library was opened, with a reading room named after Giannantonio. In the 2000s, the building was restored, and in 2011, the exhibition hall on the ground floor reopened, accessible from the Loggia Amblingh.
During the same period, a nearby ceramic workshop created the ceramic staircase between Largo Piave and the Loggia Walkway, which today attracts numerous tourists seeking the perfect photo.
