D’Avalos Palace – Civic Museums, Vasto

The palace dominates from above, over one hundred meters high, the coastal part of Vasto, like a monolith in squared light stone. Located behind the Cathedral and at the boundary of the two old town areas, the Roman-founded one and the one that grew during the Middle Ages, the palace was founded by the condottiero and lord of Vasto, Giacomo Caldora, perhaps in the 1420s. Little remains of the original appearance except the structural layout with the large central courtyard, and some traces in the exterior masonry fabric. Two notable elements are the bifora window and the remains of the Durazzo portal, which testify to the elegance of the architectural and decorative features. After passing to the Guevara lordship, who perhaps completed the construction, especially in the part facing the sea, in 1496 the domain came into the hands of the D’Avalos family, who made it, for three centuries, beyond a residence, the seat of city magistracies. The most significant event was the Turkish invasion of 1566, which, taking advantage of the absence of Marquis Francesco Ferdinando, residing in Palermo after his appointment as Viceroy of Sicily, sacked Vasto and damaged the palace. The wife, Isabella Gonzaga, daughter of the Duke of Mantua, after her husband’s death, starting from 1573, began consolidation and reconstruction work, which did not end before the beginning of the following century. The golden age of the palace was the eighteenth century: the new lords from the Lante della Rovere family enriched its apartments and established a small but lively court there. With the French invasion, the residence began its decline, and during the nineteenth century, several rooms were demolished or repurposed for various uses. Starting from the 1970s, Palazzo D’Avalos began a gradual recovery process. Today it houses the city’s art and archaeology collections. The art gallery is located in the eastern and southern wings of the palace’s first floor and hosts works by Donnini, Moccioli, Michetti, Brill, and Palizzi.

The archaeological collection, divided into five rooms, includes artifacts from the Iron Age to the Early Middle Ages, documenting the development of the Frentan area and the city of Histonium (ancient Vasto).

The first room exhibits finds from the 10th century to the 1st century BC: funerary goods from the necropolises of Tratturo and Villalfonsina, votive terracotta from the sanctuaries of Villalfonsina and Punta Penna, a bronze figurines collection, and ancient coins.

The second room is dedicated to the development of the city of Histonium during the early imperial age (1st century BC): portraits of the Julio-Claudian gens, sarcophagi, and amphorae are on display.

The third room concerns the expansion of Histonium during the high imperial age (1st-2nd century AD): artifacts from the amphitheater, aqueducts, cisterns, and a mosaic bath complex are preserved; oil lamps, stamped bricks, and a finely crafted bust of a woman are also displayed.

The fourth room contains funerary goods from the most important city necropolises: the Largo Barbacane area, the municipal palace, and the Caldora Castle.

The last room features evidence from late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: inscriptions, coins, and a ciborium from a 7th-century church in Vasto.