Popoli Terme

Though the site has not revealed significant Roman presence it appears in a ninth-century document as borgo di Pagus Fabianus. Its name in medieval Latin was Castrum Properi ("Waystation Fortress"), which name was recorded as early as 1016 as the property of Girardo, son of Roccone. The castle above the town was built between 1000 and 1015 for Tidolfo, Bishop of Valva. In 1269 the Angevin ruler Charles I of Naples granted Popoli as a fief in the Cantelmo family, who held it, with its ducal title, until 1749. The fief passed to Leonardo di Tocco, Prince of Montemiletto, and his heirs, until feudality was abolished in the Regno in 1806.

Popoli was bombed twice during World War II by the Royal Air Force. On 20 January 1944, the most important bridge in the region, the "Julius Caesar" bridge connecting Rome with Pescara, was destroyed. On 22 March 1944 at noon the city center and city hall were destroyed by substantial bombing by the British. Unfortunately, it was a day that rations were being distributed to town at the city hall, and there were long lines of women and children, many of whom were killed or wounded. The day is still remembered with sorrow by the town's inhabitants.

Following World War II, the Italian Republic awarded the town of Popoli with the "Silver Medal of Civil Merit" (Medaglia d'argento al merito civile): "Crucial center, occupied by German troops the day after the armistice, was subjected to repeated and violent bombardments which caused the deaths of ninety-one civilians and the destruction of nearly all of the public property. The whole population knew how to react, with dignity and courage, to the horrors of war and to face, with the return of peace, the difficult works of moral and material reconstruction." — Popoli (PE), 1943–1944

The town and the surrounding area have several objects of interest:

• The Taverna Ducale, from the mid 14th century, ranks among the most beautiful secular medieval buildings in Abruzzo.
• Torre de' Passeri
• The abbey of San Clemente a Casauria, founded in 871
• The church of St Francis, begun in the 15th century
• The church of Santissima Trinità (1562), with an altar and a wooden choir from 1745
• The area around the springs, which are the source of the Aterno river, is a regionally protected area with the spa.{{cite web | url=https://www.aquathermae.net/abruzzo_us/baths-of-popoli/ | title=Baths of Popoli }}
• The castle ruin, above Popoli

The main festivity is in August. The historical parade with people dressed in costume is held in celebration of historical event of the city (1495). The parade is followed by a fair, called "Certamen de la Balestra". Strength and ability are necessary for the knight to win the Certamen or the grand prize.

General Corradino D'Ascanio

{{Weather box|width=auto

|metric first=y

|single line=y

|collapsed = Y

|location = Popoli Terme, elevation {{convert|260|m|ft|abbr=on}}, (1951–2000)

|Jan record high C = 21.9

|Feb record high C = 23.5

|Mar record high C = 33.0

|Apr record high C = 30.5

|May record high C = 36.2

|Jun record high C = 40.2

|Jul record high C = 45.0

|Aug record high C = 41.5

|Sep record high C = 37.5

|Oct record high C = 33.4

|Nov record high C = 25.4

|Dec record high C = 23.5

|Jan record low C = -14.8

|Feb record low C = -17.0

|Mar record low C = -9.8

|Apr record low C = -5.3

|May record low C = -1.0

|Jun record low C = 2.0

|Jul record low C = 4.2

|Aug record low C = 4.5

|Sep record low C = 1.2

|Oct record low C = -3.5

|Nov record low C = -12.8

|Dec record low C = -12.5

|Jan high C = 9.6

|Feb high C = 11.4

|Mar high C = 14.7

|Apr high C = 18.3

|May high C = 23.1

|Jun high C = 27.4

|Jul high C = 30.6

|Aug high C = 30.5

|Sep high C = 26.3

|Oct high C = 20.4

|Nov high C = 14.6

|Dec high C = 10.4

| year high C =

|Jan mean C = 4.8

|Feb mean C = 6.1

|Mar mean C = 9.0

|Apr mean C = 12.1

|May mean C = 16.3

|Jun mean C = 20.1

|Jul mean C = 22.6

|Aug mean C = 22.5

|Sep mean C = 19.2

|Oct mean C = 14.4

|Nov mean C = 9.5

|Dec mean C = 5.9

| year mean C =

|Jan low C = 0.1

|Feb low C = 0.8

|Mar low C = 3.2

|Apr low C = 5.9

|May low C = 9.6

|Jun low C = 12.8

|Jul low C = 14.6

|Aug low C = 14.4

|Sep low C = 12.0

|Oct low C = 8.4

|Nov low C = 4.5

|Dec low C = 1.4

| year low C =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 69.5

|Feb precipitation mm = 59.0

|Mar precipitation mm = 63.3

|Apr precipitation mm = 71.6

|May precipitation mm = 46.4

|Jun precipitation mm = 35.8

|Jul precipitation mm = 25.8

|Aug precipitation mm = 30.6

|Sep precipitation mm = 54.0

|Oct precipitation mm = 82.6

|Nov precipitation mm = 91.4

|Dec precipitation mm = 89.6

|year precipitation mm =

| Jan precipitation days = 8.0

| Feb precipitation days = 8.1

| Mar precipitation days = 8.0

| Apr precipitation days = 8.0

| May precipitation days = 7.0

| Jun precipitation days = 5.2

| Jul precipitation days = 4.0

| Aug precipitation days = 3.8

| Sep precipitation days = 5.4

| Oct precipitation days = 8.2

| Nov precipitation days = 9.8

| Dec precipitation days = 10.2

| year precipitation days =

| source 1 = Regione Abruzzo{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240630102234/https://www.regione.abruzzo.it/system/files/agricoltura/agrometereologia/VALORI_MEDI_CLIMATICI_NELLA_REGIONE_ABRUZZO.pdf

| archive-date = 30 June 2024

| url = https://www.regione.abruzzo.it/system/files/agricoltura/agrometereologia/VALORI_MEDI_CLIMATICI_NELLA_REGIONE_ABRUZZO.pdf

| title = VALORI MEDI CLIMATICI DAL 1951 AL 2000 NELLA REGIONE ABRUZZO

| publisher= Regione Abruzzo

| access-date = 30 June 2024}}

}}

{{reflist}}

• Damiani, Fernando (1975) La città di Popoli: memorie storiche ed artistiche (The town of Popoli: Historical and Artistic Memoir) Di Cioccio, Sulmona, Italy, {{OCLC|2796471}}, in Italian
• Di Donato, Ugo (1980) Popoli e i Popolesi (Popoli and the People of Popoli) Fracasso, Popoli, Italy, {{OCLC|15314442}}, in Italian
• Hamilton, Mary and Nodier, Charles (1810) La famille du duc de Popoli: mémories de M. de Cantelmo, son frere (The Family of the Duke of Popoli: A Memoir of Monsieur de Cantelmo, his Brother) P. Didot l'áiné, Paris, {{OCLC|65223502}}, in French

{{Portal|Italy}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080514052645/http://www.abruzzo2000.com/abruzzo/pescara/popoli.htm "Popoli" Abruzzo 2000]

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{{Province of Pescara}}

{{Commons category|Popoli Terme}}

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Category:Cities and towns in Abruzzo

Category:Spa towns in Italy