Chieti (Italian: [ˈkjɛːti], locally [ˈkjeːti] ⓘ; Neapolitan: Chiete, Abruzzese: Chjïétë, Chjìtë; Latin: Teate) is a city and comune (municipality) in Southern Italy, 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of Rome.

Discoveries of great importance to the prehistory of Abruzzo and traces of settlements dating back to 850,000 – 400,000 years ago were those of two hand axes and some Clactonian splinters at Madonna del Freddo's fluvial terraces, in the territory of Chieti.

[5] After being inhabited by Osci, around the 10th century BC, the territory of present-day Chieti was occupied by Marrucini, an Italic tribe probably coming from Sabina.

[9] Chieti recovered some political and economic importance under the Norman rule of Southern Italy, a role it kept also under the Hohenstaufen, Angevine and Jiménez dynasty rulers.

[3][5] In 1806 Chieti was turned into a fortress by Napoleon's France,[citation needed] to which the population was generally hostile, even if new administrative structures were created during that occupation.

Chieti is characterized by frequent and strong winds, also due to the hilly landscape, so in summer windy weather can moderate the high temperatures.

Instead, flood hazard is mainly related to the two rivers Pescara and Alento, which present erosion and an associated thick hydrographic network of smaller waterbodies.

[30] Chieti is a culture and administration-oriented town, with the tourism being a consistent sector: it hosts the seat of the homonymous province, a tribunal, hospitals, sport venues and different hotels.

This name was given to the square in order to remember Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, who triumphally visited Chieti during the Italian unification, on October 18, 1860.

The 16th-century De' Mayo palace, a former seat of the viceroy of Abruzzo, is built in Neapolitan style on Ancient Roman underground galleries, featuring a patio, a big stone portal, and an original Orientalizing turret.

[5][3] The cathedral dedicated to Saint Justin of Chieti was probably founded in the 8th century and, according to tradition, was re-built by bishop Teodorico I in 840, after the sack by Pepin of Italy.

The first three floors of the bell tower were erected in 1335 by Bartolomeo di Giacomo and in 1498 Antonio da Lodi built its bellcote and tented roof.

The 1703 Apennine earthquakes destroyed the tented roof of the bell tower and damaged the church, whose aspect was changed by the archbishop Francesco Brancia between 1764 and 1770.

[45][46][47] Close to the cathedral there is the Baroque oratory of the Mount of the Dead Brotherhood, the oldest catholic fraternity of Chieti that was officially acknowledged by Pope Innocent X in 1648.

[48] A church dedicated to Saint Francis, which has the traditional Latin cross plan, was probably founded in 1239 thanks to the nobleman Antonio Gizio, who donated his estate to the project.

At the end of the 19th century, the architect Torquato Scaraviglia added an external stairway and another intervention was commissioned by the noblewoman Theresa de Hortalis.

[49][50] The Baroque church named Santa Chiara was built for the nuns of the Order of Saint Clare between 1644 and 1720 and presents a Latin cross floor plan with a single nave.

The adjacent building, in the past convent with the name of Santo Spirito and now a Carabinieri center, was inhabited by the nuns from 1558 to the Italian Unification, who were for sure present in Chieti since the 14th century.

Artworks of great importance preserved in this church are the wooden pulpit with gold and marble decorations, the 18th century organ, the vault painted with a representation of the Assumption of Mary, and the major altarpiece representing the Pentecost.

[5][3] At the beginning of the 19th century, Chieti needed to have a larger and more modern theater to host the increased number of spectators, and the intense drama and opera production of that period.

[52] Porta Pescara is the name of the only city gates existing today of the town walls that defended Chieti, with one dating back to the 13th century and the other built in 1797 on the orders of Baron Francesco Farina, an important administrator.

In the following years also other surrounding properties were bought and all were used to create a big urban park, with plants such as lindens, poplars, and cedars from Florence, which can be seen also today.

In the urban park, there are also a fountain bought in a French exposition of 1890, two artificial lakes, and a large bronze First World War memorial realized in 1924.

[5] The territory of Chieti was the seat of Teate, a Roman town which was founded in an area inhabited since Prehistory and flourished in the first century BC, becoming a municipium.

The construction of the two twin temples and the smaller one was commissioned by Marcus Vetius Marcellus and his wife Helvidia Priscilla, who were favored by Nero.

In addition, underneath the 18th-century Palazzo de' Mayo there is the so-called via tecta, an over 4 meters tall ancient Roman underground street, whose function is still debated.

As happened in 1993, in 2023 Chieti administration has declared insolvency for debts amounting to 98 million euros, and a financial plan has been introduced by Italian authorities.

[80][81] The public transport bus service in Chieti is principally provided by companies Società Unica Abruzzese di Trasporto [it] and La Panoramica [it].

[83] Società Unica Abruzzese di Trasporto [it] (or TUA) is a regional public transport company which operates bus and rail services.

[14][86] On the border between Manoppello and Chieti (at Brecciarola), a freight station named Stazione di Interporto d'Abruzzo [it] serves a logistics center.