In 1816, the town of Vasto experienced a landslide, one of several that would occur over the years, culminating in the major landslide of 1956, which destroyed part of the ancient Roman city and the historic Church of San Pietro.
The 1816 event also struck the town’s eastern slope, affecting the stretch from the Porta Catena viewpoint to the San Michele viewpoint. Much like what would happen a century later, the collapse of the hillside toward the sea was triggered by heavy snowfall during an exceptionally harsh winter, followed by a sudden thaw as temperatures rose.
The landslide began on April 1, 1816, and lasted for three days.
Despite the vast amount of displaced earth, the rock foundation beneath the town remained intact. As a result, unlike the catastrophic landslide of 1956, this event was relatively slow-moving, allowing farmers and settlers on the eastern slope to escape safely with their belongings.
The collapse made the town’s eastern face steeper than before and led to the destruction of two churches: the Church of Cona a Mare, located near the beach, and the Church of Madonna della Neve, which also housed a water source. In 1849, architect Nicola Maria Pietrocola reconstructed this fountain in a neoclassical style, renaming it “Fonte Nuova.”
The two churches, however, were never rebuilt. Today, two precious artworks remain as their legacy: the Triptych of Cona a Mare, an oil painting on wood by Michele Greco da Valona, created in 1505 and now preserved in the Cathedral, and an 18th-century painting of the Madonna della Neve, displayed in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore.
