Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BOAT
Agenzia Sanmar
( 0854 451 08 73;
www.sanmar.it
; Stazione Marittima Banchina Sud)
Contact
Agenzia Sanmar at the port for ferry information and tickets.
SNAV
( 071 207 61 16;
www.snav.it
)
Throughout August, a daily SNAV jetfoil runs to the
Croatian island of Hvar and on to Split (Spalato in Italian). One-way tickets for the 5¾-
hour journey cost €120 per person and per car.
BUS
ARPA
( 800 762 622;
www.arpaonline.it
)
Buses leave from Piazzale della Repubblica for
L'Aquila (€8, two hours, 10 daily), Sulmona (€6, one hour, 11 daily), Naples (€26, 4½
hours, four daily), Rome (€17, 2¾ hours, 11 daily) and towns throughout Abruzzo and
Molise.
TRAIN
Direct trains run to Ancona (from €8.15, 1¼ to two hours, 20 daily), Bari (from €19, three
hours, 16 daily), Rome (from €11.90, four hours, six daily) and Sulmona (€4.50, 1¼
hours, 16 daily).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Chieti
POP 54,300
Overlooking the Aterno valley, Chieti is a hilltop town with roots dating back to pre-Ro-
man times when, as capital of the Marrucini tribe, it was known as Teate Marrucinorum.
Later, in the 4th century BC, it was conquered by the Romans and incorporated into the
Roman Republic. These days the main reason to stop by is to the visit the town's two fas-
cinating archaeology museums.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell'Abruzzo
( 0871 40 43 92;
www.archeoabruzzo.beniculturali.it
;
Villa Frigerj; adult/reduced €4/2; 9am-7.30pm Tue-Sun)
is
housed in a neoclassical villa in the Villa Comunale park. Displays include a comprehens-
ive collection of local finds, with the star event the 6th-century-BC
Warrior of
Capestrano,
considered the most important pre-Roman find in central Italy. Mystery sur-
rounds the identity of the warrior, but there are some who think it to be Numa Pompilo,
the second king of Rome and successor to Romulus. The museum also showcases 5th-
century-BC funerary steles, an impressive coin collection, and some colossal statues - in-
cluding that of a seated Hercules - dating from the 1st century BC.
