The Province of Chieti (; Abruzzese: ) is a province in the region of Abruzzo in southern Italy. Its provincial capital is the homonymous city of Chieti. The province has a population of 369,059 in an area of across its 104 municipalities. Its provincial president is Francesco Menna.
Chieti's cathedral was first constructed during the 9th century but was reconstructed during the 13th century. The province contains the National Archaeology Museum of Abruzzo, in Italian the Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo, which contains items from the area prior to Roman rule.
History It was first settled by the Osci people near the Pescara River. In around 1000 BCE it was conquered by Marsi and Marrucini people. The city was also lived in by the Greeks, who named it Teate. It was conquered by the Romans in 305 BCE but after the fall of Rome in 476 CE, Theodoric the Great gained ownership of the city and it was subsequently used as a Lombard fortress. The city was then owned by the Franks, the Normans, the Hohenstaufen, the Angevins and Aragonese rulers until strong control over the city was gained by Charles V of France. Chieti was made the capital of Abruzzo Citra under its period of rule by the House of Bourbon.
The province of Chieti contains Ortona, a town founded by Fretani people for trading with the Greeks, which was the scene of a World War II battle between German and predominantly British and Canadian forces; over 2,000 civilians died and the town was largely destroyed.
Geography The province of Chieti is one of four provinces in the region of Abruzzo, on the eastern coast of Italy. It is the most easternmost province in the region and is bounded to the northeast by the Adriatic Sea. The province of Pescara lies to the north and the province of L'Aquila to the northwest. To the south lies the province of Isernia and the province of Campobasso lies to the south east, both these provinces being part of the region of Molise. The provincial capital is Chieti, situated on a ridge a few miles inland and just south of the River Aterno-Pescara, which flows into the sea at nearby Pescara.
There has been a movement by farmers away from the land and the area. The outflow has been greatest from the hilly and mountainous areas, where the holdings are small and worked by the families who own them. In the period 1951 to 1971, the number of people employed in agriculture in Chieti fell from over 80% to around 45%, the number employed in industry tripled to around 20% and the number employed in the service sector, tripled to around 30%.
Municipalities
The province has 104 municipalities:
Altino Archi Ari Arielli Atessa Bomba Borrello Bucchianico Canosa Sannita Carpineto Sinello Carunchio Casacanditella Casalanguida Casalbordino Casalincontrada Casoli Castel Frentano Castelguidone Castiglione Messer Marino Celenza sul Trigno Chieti Civitaluparella Civitella Messer Raimondo Colledimacine Colledimezzo Crecchio Cupello Dogliola Fallo Fara Filiorum Petri Fara San Martino Filetto Fossacesia Fraine Francavilla al Mare Fresagrandinaria Frisa Furci Gamberale Gessopalena Gissi Giuliano Teatino Guardiagrele Guilmi Lama dei Peligni Lanciano Lentella Lettopalena Liscia Miglianico Montazzoli Montebello sul Sangro Monteferrante Montelapiano Montenerodomo Monteodorisio Mozzagrogna Orsogna Ortona Paglieta Palena Palmoli Palombaro Pennadomo Pennapiedimonte Perano Pietraferrazzana Pizzoferrato Poggiofiorito Pollutri Pretoro Quadri Rapino Ripa Teatina Rocca San Giovanni Roccamontepiano Roccascalegna Roccaspinalveti Roio del Sangro Rosello San Buono San Giovanni Lipioni San Giovanni Teatino San Martino sulla Marrucina San Salvo San Vito Chietino Sant'Eusanio del Sangro Santa Maria Imbaro Scerni Schiavi di Abruzzo Taranta Peligna Tollo Torino di Sangro Tornareccio Torrebruna Torrevecchia Teatina Torricella Peligna Treglio Tufillo Vacri Vasto Villa Santa Maria Villalfonsina Villamagna
Demographics As of 2026, the population is 369,059, of which 49.1% are male, and 50.9% are female. Minors make up 13.7% of the population, and seniors make up 27.3%. Immigration As of 2025, immigrants make up 10.4% of the population. The 5 largest foreign countries of birth are Romania, Albania, Switzerland, Germany, and Argentina.
Quality of life Quality of life indicators according to Il Sole 24 Ore in 2019 Indicators ValuesWealth and consumptionValue added per inhabitant€23,300Per capita bank deposits€19,777.2Average monthly mortgage payments€709.8Average remaining financial exposure€28,029.0Average price of new 100 m2 apartments in semicentral zones of the capital€1150.0 per m2Average monthly rental fee of new 100 m2 apartments in semicentral zones of the capital€350.0Sold m2/offered m265.0%Average old-age pension amount€981.3Annual family expenditure on durable goods€2191.0Per capita protests€9.7Percentage of over 18 population with active credits38.3%Average income per taxpayer€17,432Income per taxpayer variation from 2007 to 20171.4%Environment and servicesAverage per capita local governments social expenditure for disabled people, senior citizens, and minors€59.0Percentage of residents dismissed from hospitals out of Region15.0%Air pollution in terms of PM1024.0 μg/m³Family doctors/1,000 inhabitants1.1Pediatricians/1,000 inhabitants aged from 0 to 15 years old2.7Justice and safetyReported car thefts/100,000 inhabitants109.4Reported home burglaries/100,000 inhabitants190.1Reported rapes/100,000 inhabitants2.9Reported crimes/100,000 inhabitants2679.0Reported robberies/100,000 inhabitants20.2Reported extortions/100,000 inhabitants11.4Reported crimes associated with psychoactive drugs/100,000 inhabitants38.4Reported frauds and informatics frauds/100,000 inhabitants265.1Civil procedures/100,000 inhabitants2530.4Percentage of cases pending more than three years0.1%Average duration of civil procedures244.4 daysDefined procedures/new ones1.0Reports of crimes associated with money laundering/100,000 inhabitants0.5Reported fires/100,000 inhabitants7.8Dead and injured people due to road accidents/1,000 inhabitants3.9Business and occupationRegular immigrants/resident population0.1%Unemployment rate (from 15 to 74 years old)11.3%Youth unemployment rate (from 15 to 29 years old)30.2%Goods exported abroad/GDP65.3%Inactive resident population34.9%Registered companies/100 inhabitants11.7Innovative startups/1,000 capital companies3.3Difference between new registered companies and ceased companies/companies registered in the former year0.1Failing companies/companies registered1.4%Demography and societyDomestic net migration -0.6%Mortality rate per 10,000 inhabitants11.8Deaths due to heart attacks/1,000 inhabitants in five years3.1Deaths due to tumors/1,000 inhabitants in five years13.5Life expectancy at birth82.9 yearsAverage number of people per family2.3Life expectancy at birth increase2.1 yearsHouseholds and unions/1,000 inhabitants497.3Successful births/average resident population6.6 ‰Population aged 65 and over/population aged 15–640.391Population aged 65 and over/population aged 0–142.016Difference between population that declares to become resident abroad and vice versa/1,000 inhabitants3.1Years of schooling received on average by over 25 population10.4Acquisition of citizenship/foreign residents2.2%Culture and free timeCinema seats/100,000 inhabitants1927.5Libraries/10,000 inhabitants3.2Restaurants and bars/100,000 inhabitants685.5Shows/10 km2175.0Book shops/100.000 inhabitants7.0Gyms/100.000 inhabitants11.2Per capita expenditure on shows€9.8Percentage of population subscriber of ultra-broadband3.4%Hotel beds/km29.7
Government List of presidents
Main sights
Chieti
The Gothic Cathedral, re-built by bishop Attone I in 1069. Of that building only parts of the Romanesque crypt remain. The church was remade in the 14th century and the bell tower was enlarged. After several earthquakes, the church was rebuilt again in the late 17th-18th centuries in Baroque style. Oratory of Sacro Monte dei Morti Church of San Francesco al Corso, founded in 1239. The façade shows an incomplete Baroque restoration. Church of Santa Chiara
Under the church of SS. Pietro e Paolo and the adjoining houses are extensive substructures (in opus reticulatum and brickwork) of the 1st century CE, belonging to a building erected by M. Vectius MarcellusProbably mentioned by Pliny, H.N., II., 199. and Helvidia Priscilla. There are also remains of large reservoirs and of an ancient theatre. In the early 21st century, new archeological excavations are under way on the site of the former Campo Sportivo.
Lanciano
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Ponte ("St. Mary of the Bridge"), so called because it is built on bridgework along a precipice: is the work of Michitelli (1619) and has some paintings by Pozzulaniello (Giacinto Diana). It houses also an 8th-century Byzantine statue portraying the Madonna, probably brought here during the iconoclast controversy. Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the most important architectural sites in Abruzzo. Built in 1227 according to Bourgogne-Cistercian lines, it was updated in 1540 in Baroque style, with the addition of two aisles and stucco decorations (recently stripped off). The main gate is from 1317. Chiesa di San Francesco (1258), built over a pre-existing 7th-century church. The high altar houses the relics of the Eucharistic Miracle. Chiesa di Sant'Agostino (1270). The façade has maintained the original rose window and the gate, while the single nave interior is a Baroque restoration. Chiesa di San Biagio (11th century) is the oldest church of the city. It has a bell tower and it's always opened on 3 February for the anointing of the throat, a Catholic rite linked to the cult Saint Biagio. Torri Montanare, a relic of the ancient walls (11th century). They consist in two massive towers, the most recent dating to the 15th century, offering a panoramic view of the area. Porta San Biagio (11th century), the only one gate remaining of the nine once existing Torre civica (19th century) was built over a pre-existing tower next to the cathedral. Nowadays it is a belfry and a clock tower. Torre Aragonese (15th century) was a tower along the ancient walls. Palazzo dell'Arcivescovado (16th century) is still the seat of the archbishop and houses a diocesan Museum. Botteghe medievali was a house built in 1434. It has two floors and on the ground floor there are antique shops, with external bank according to the Roman use.
Vasto
The old part of the town (centro storico) features a number of interesting buildings and churches dating from the 12th to the 18th century, including: Cathedral of San Giuseppe Santa Maria Maggiore: largest and oldest church in the town, mentioned in a document as early as 1195, with a tall bell tower. Damaged by the Turks in 1566,Chiese di Vasto: Santa Maria Maggiore, 2014, at the URL: and by a fire in 1645, it went a thorough restructuring in 1735 in which it got the current shape. It hosts one of alleged Jesus' crown of thorns (Sacra Spina). Castello Caldoresco , which houses four museums, called
Below the hill on which the town is located, the beach resort town of Marina di Vasto offers a large sandy beach and several hotels and other facilities.
Further north the coast becomes rocky and features interesting pebble and stone beaches and coves, as well as the typical trabocchi, that are typical wooden fishing machines of the Southern Abruzzo coast. Amongst the most interesting natural areas, also featuring a number of sandy and rocky beaches, is the protected natural area of the Riserva Naturale di Punta Aderci, whose beaches were voted in 2014 3rd of the top 20 beaches in Italy.Legambiente, 2014 http://www.legambiente.it/contenuti/comunicati/le-spiagge-piu-belle-dell-estate-2014-cala-degli-infreschi-camerota-e-la-piu-ap
Ortona