City
Ostia Eterni
Pescara
Listen to the story
Pescara, on Italy's Adriatic coast, grew from Ostia Eterni, the harbour at the mouth of the river Aternus. The river itself is not drawn on the map; only this name betrays it, beside a pair of towers ringed at the base by a line and set a little inland from the shore. The Greek geographer Strabo says the port belonged to the Vestini but also served the Paeligni and Marrucini, and that the river was crossed on a bridge of boats. From here ships sailed across the Adriatic to Salona in Dalmatia. The last ancient remains vanished when Charles the Fifth built a fortress on the right bank.