THE ABRUZZO REGION IN THE HISTORICAL ARCHIVES
The Abruzzo Region in the Historical Archives of the Banco di Napoli, a documentary exhibition about the historical themes regarding the bank documents kept at the Banco di Napoli Archives deals with historical themes tied to the Abruzzo region beginning in the seventeenth century which can be connected to bank documents kept at the historical archives at the Banco di Napoli. There are documents referring to works of art, business activities, and artifacts which were financed with credit documents from 1500 to 1900 at the Banco di Napoli and used to decorate churches, residences, and monuments located in various towns in Abruzzo such as Pescara, Teramo, Sulmona, Giulianova, Ortona, Patentor, Villa Badessa, Galiano Aterno, Penne, Castel di sangro, Caramanico, etc.
The event, organized by the Associazione Culturale ConVerso, (ConVerso Cultural Association) is a traveling exhibit curated by Anna Maria Censorii (Actainfo Archives Manager) created in collaboration with local organizations and institutions. The Soprintendenza Archivistica dell’Abruzzo (Abruzzo Archival Authority) and the Polo Museale Civico di Giulianova (Giulianova Civic Museum Centre), la Biblioteca Provinciale “M. Delfico” (M. Deltic Provincial Library) in Teramo , and the Fondazione Pescarabruzzo (Pescarabruzzo Foundation) in Pescara.
Approximately 70 bank documents with detailed analyses and explanations will be unveiled at the event. It will be divided into three sections: Origins of the Banco di Napoli, Resources for Art, and Fragments of History.
In the first section, documents testifying to the birth of the Banco di Napoli, its branch offices and the buildings which served as their headquarters in Pescara and Teramo. In the second section, the works of art which are still located in the church of the Ss. Annunziata di Sulmona, in the church of Ss. Trinità di Caramanico and those which have unfortunately been lost.
In the third section, fragments of history which serve to remember the past fairs of Lanciano and Castel di Sangro, the trade of red gold or Saffron from Abruzzo, the military fort in Pescara and the Spanish Fort in Aquila, the liberation of slaves from Abruzzi kidnapped by Muslims and take to Algeria and Tunisia, the arbëreshë (italo-albanian) settlement at Villa Badessa of Rosciano (PE) dating back to the thirteenth century, the 18th century customs houses called arrendamenti (subcontracted tax collectors), the mysterious and precious organ in Gagliano Aterno (AQ), loans for the enlargement of the Royal College of Aquila and for the construction of the road from Teramo to Montorio, and still other fragments on the realization of the expressway from Pescara to Naples, also know as the Italian “Trans Siberian” Highway.