Atri

▪ Italy

      town, Abruzzi region, central Italy, northwest of Pescara, on a hill overlooking the Adriatic Sea 7.5 mi (12 km) to the east and the Gran Sasso d'Italia mountain group to the west. Atri originated as Hatria, a town of the Picenes, an ancient Italic people. In 282 BC it became the Roman colony of Hadria, which was later celebrated for heavy copper coins and for pottery. The family of the emperor Hadrian came from Hadria. In the Middle Ages, Atri passed from the popes to the Swabian imperial house and then to the Angevin dynasty before becoming, in 1393, the feudal estate of the Acquaviva family, whose descendants bear the title of dukes of Atri. Notable buildings are the 13th-century cathedral and the 15th-century palace of the dukes of Acquaviva.

      The main industries are agricultural and include the raising of cattle and the production of wine, olive oil, grain, cattle, cheese and eggs, flour, macaroni, and terra-cotta. Pop. (2006 est.) mun., 11,234.

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