The Stables of Palazzo Aragona are situated on a hill that overlooks Vasto to the south, offering a view towards the Trigno valley, which has historically been a strategic route linking the Abruzzo coast with the Campanian hinterland.
The name “Aragona” is thought by some to stem from the fact that, when Palazzo d’Avalos was built, the lady of Vasto was Maria d’Aragona, the wife of Marquis Alfonso III. However, it actually comes from an adaptation of the earlier name “Rahone“. This is known from the presence of the Lombard monastery, Santo Stefano in Rahone, in the 8th century.
The foundation likely dates even earlier, to the 6th century, when the Byzantines built a fortified settlement here, referred to as “castrum“, which was called Castrum Reunias.
Unfortunately, no trace remains of the earlier settlements, as they were incorporated into the palace built in 1522 by Dario d’Antonello, a prominent figure of the time, who became mayor of the city in 1529, appointed by the Marquis.
The palace, which consists of several sections and three courtyards, was purchased in the early 18th century by Marquis Cesare Michelangelo d’Avalos. The Marquis undertook major renovations, adding artistic objects, and used the building as a postal station for changing horses, as documented in records from 1723 related to the celebrations of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Upon his death, the property remained in the d’Avalos family until it passed to Ortensia d’Avalos, who brought it as a dowry to her husband, Duke Giovanni Quarto of Belgioioso.
It was during this time, on September 5, 1897, that Maria Antonietta Bartoli Avveduti was born here, the daughter of the Duke’s estate manager, who later became a silent film diva under the stage name Elena Sangro.
After changing ownership and the destruction of the ice houses once located in the area now occupied by the Aragona Stadium, the palace was used as a factory until the late 1950s. It became the headquarters of SALTO, the Società Adriatica Lavorazione Tabacchi Orientali (Adriatic Society for the Processing of Oriental Tobacco).
Today, the areas once used for tobacco processing have been repurposed as exhibition halls and a library hub.
These spaces have been named Stables of Palazzo Aragona in remembrance of the building’s former use.
The palace chapel, restored in the early 20th century by the Duke of Belgioioso, was also restored and reopened for worship in the early 2000s.
In 2013, the chapel was handed over to the Orthodox Church of the Romanian community, which is quite numerous in Vasto and its surroundings.
