Pratola Peligna: evoluzione urbana dalla nascita alla fine del XVIII secolo

The origin of the Pratola Peligna village dates around 1000 with the birth of the first settlement, identifiable with part of the current district “Dentro la Terra”, arisen on the top of a hill from the surrounding territory so that it could be easier to defend. Pratola was first owned by the monastery s. Vincenzo al Volturno and then by Restaino Cantelmo, lord of Popoli; on 29 September 1294 it was transferred by king Charles II of Naples to the monastery s. Spirito al Morrone which in the centuries to follow applied its feudal pressure. The built-up area developed around the original centre, occupying the current fabric of “Dentro la Terra” and building walls, currently only partly visible because of the construction of new buildings. During the XVI century the village started expanding outside the castrum in the so-called “Ara della Corte” and “Dietro il Castello” zones. This continued into the 1600’s and was associated to a remarkable increase in population which determined the formation of peripheral settlements. Further to the violent earthquake which destroyed most of the city of Sulmona on 3 November 1706 causing huge damage to Pratola, in the 1700’s and in the early 1800’s a medium-scale urban recovery took place. Such a recovery resulted in the expansion of existing villages and in the creation of new ones while significant works inside the village were carried out. With the dissolution of the Celestine Order, ratified by Napoleon on 13 February 1807, Pratola became part of the Province of Abruzzo Ulteriore II.