Sulmona

Sulmona, town, Abruzzi region, central Italy, situated in the valley of the upper Pescara River, surrounded by mountains, southwest of Pescara. Originating as Sulmo, a town of the Paeligni (an ancient Italic people), it was later a Roman possession and was the birthplace of the 1st-century Roman poet Ovid. The capital of the independent province of Abruzzi under the Hohenstaufen emperors, it passed to the Kingdom of Naples in the 13th century and was noted for its goldsmiths in the 14th and 15th centuries. Pope Innocent VII was born at Sulmona. The most notable buildings are the church (rebuilt after an earthquake in 1706) and palace of the Annunziata (present building begun 1415), housing the civic museum. Other landmarks include an aqueduct (1256) that supplied water to the Fonte del (fountain of) Vecchio (1474), the 15th-century church of Sta. Maria della Tomba, and the remains of the Romanesque church of S. Francesco della Scarpa.

A rail junction and trade centre for agricultural products, Sulmona is known for confectionery (sugared almonds) and manufactures wrought iron articles. Pop. (2006 est.) mun., 25,307.