Abruzzo (US: /ɑːˈbruːtsoʊ, əˈ-/,[3][4] UK: /æˈbrʊtsoʊ/;[5] Italian: [aˈbruttso]; Abruzzese Neapolitan: Abbrùzze [abˈbruttsə], Abbrìzze [abˈbrittsə] or Abbrèzze [abˈbrɛttsə]; Aquilano: Abbrùzzu), historically known as Abruzzi, is a region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million.

These ensure the survival of rare species, such as the golden eagle, the Abruzzo (or Abruzzese) chamois, the Apennine wolf and the Marsican brown bear.

[10] Nineteenth-century Italian diplomat and journalist Primo Levi [it] (1853–1917) chose the adjectives forte e gentile ("strong and kind") to capture what he saw as the character of the region and its people.

[13] Significant evidence of Upper Paleolithic human populations has been found in various places, including the Fucino depression and Montebello di Bertona, the latter giving its name to a distinctive stoneworking technique called "Bertonian".

[14][15][16][17] After the Mesolithic transition, which was characterized by climate change and a lack of food resources, agriculture was introduced in Abruzzo by Neolithic farmers from the Middle East.

[18] In Abruzzo and Marche, villages typical of Ripoli culture [it] in the 5–6th millennium BC consisted of huts, and were generally located on fluvial terraces or hills overlooking rivers.

[16][17][13] At the end of the Iron Age, Abruzzo was inhabited by different tribes, including those defined by ancient Roman tradition as Sabelli:[24] Oscan-speaking Pentri, Carricini and Frentani, and, more generically, Osco-Umbrian Aequi, Praetutii, Vestini, Marrucini, Marsi and Peligni.

[25] They fought again with Rome during the Social War (91–87 BC) to gain political rights and created the ephemeral state called Italia with Corfinio as the capital.

[33] Pinna (today Penne), Anxanum (Lanciano), Hortona (Ortona), Histonium (Vasto), Sulmona and Marruvium (San Benedetto dei Marsi) are among the settlements that are still inhabited, while others are no longer so, such as Cluviae near Casoli.

[34] The region was known as Aprutium in the Middle Ages and, according to a hypothesis, it is a combination of Praetutium, or rather of the name of the people, Praetutii, applied to their chief city, Interamnia, the old Teramo.

In the 8th century, Transamund II of Spoleto rebelled against Liutprand, King of the Lombards, but was able to recover his duchy and also to include other remaining territories of former Valeria province.

In 871, Louis II of Italy founded, as the Carolingian Emperor, a monastery, which would become very powerful in the history of Abruzzo (Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria).

The region was profoundly affected during the wars that followed a conspiracy which resulted in the assassination of Andrew, Duke of Calabria, the husband of Queen Joanna I of Naples.

In 1734, Charles III of the House of Bourbon, King of Spain, ended the short Hasburg Austrian domination, which contributed to large land concentrations in Abruzzo.

Despite the high level of destructions and victims caused by the Second World War, there was remarkable development in the second half of the 20th century, which particularly favored Fucino and Adriatic coastal areas.

Geographically, Abruzzo is nearly at the center of Italian peninsula, stretching from the heart of the Apennines to the Adriatic Sea, and includes mainly mountainous and wild land.

[42] The minimum annual rainfall is found in some inland valleys, sheltered by mountain ranges, such as Peligna or Tirino (Ofena, Capestrano), where as little as 500 millimetres (19.7 inches) were recorded.

[109] There is a significant disparity between the railways of the Abruzzo coast and the inland areas, which badly need modernization to improve the service, in particular, the Rome-Pescara line.

Existing railway lines: There are three highways that serve the region: The museum Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo in Chieti houses the famed statue Warrior of Capestrano which was found in a necropolis of the 6th century BC.

Across the region, among the prominent cultural and historical buildings are: Teramo Cathedral, its archeological museum and the Roman theater, the Castello della Monica, the Collurania-Teramo Observatory, the famous L'Aquila Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio (which holds the remains of Pope Celestine V), the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Santa Maria del Suffragio, the Forte Spagnolo, the Fountain of 99 Spouts, Gabriele D'Annunzio's house in Pescara, Campli's Scala Sancta and its church, the church of Santissima Annunziata in Sulmona, the cathedrals of Chieti, Lanciano, Guardiagrele, Atri and Pescara along with the castles of Ortona, Celano and Ortucchio.

On the third of February in Taranta Peligna every year since the sixteenth century an evocative ritual is held: panicelle, or small loaves made of flour and water, in the shape of a blessing hand, are distributed among the faithful.

The Polish Pope John Paul II loved the mountains of Abruzzo, where he would retire often and pray in the church of San Pietro della Ienca.

American artists and celebrities such as: Dean Martin, Perry Como, Henry Mancini, Nancy Pelosi, Rocky Marciano, Rocky Mattioli, Bruno Sammartino, Mario Batali, John and Dan Fante, Tommy Lasorda, Dan Marino, Mario Lanza, Garry Marshall, Penny Marshall, Ariana Grande, and Al Martino trace part of their family roots to Abruzzo.

Some international movies shot in Abruzzo include The American, Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose, Fellini's La Strada and I Vitelloni, Schwarzenegger's Red Sonja, Ladyhawke, King David, Francesco, Keoma, The Barbarians, The Fox and the Child and Krull.

Among the most well preserved are Castel del Monte and Santo Stefano di Sessanio, within the Gran Sasso National Park on the edge of the high plain of Campo Imperatore and nestled beneath the Apennines' highest peaks.

Within the Gran Sasso National Park is also found Castelli, an ancient pottery center whose artisans produced ceramics for most of the royal houses of Europe.

The proximity to Rome, the protected areas and scenic landscapes making the region one of the greenest in Europe, the presence of quaint villages, its rich and varied culinary traditions are important tourist attractions.

The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "Giuseppe Caporale", which conducts research in veterinary and environmental public health, is located in Teramo.

Mozzarella, either fresh or seasoned, is made from ewe's milk, although a great number of lesser known varieties of these cheeses can be found all over Abruzzo and Molise.

Ventricina from the Vasto area is made with large pieces of fat and lean pork, pressed and seasoned with powdered sweet peppers and fennel and encased in dried pig stomach.