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By Domenico Pettinella The
Torricella Peligna Ostrogoth helmet, so-called because it
belonged to an Ostrogoth warrior, was found in 1922 during
excavations in the locality of Santa Lucia, between
Torricella Peligna and Roccascalegna, and was recently put
on display, together with other findings, during the
exhibition "From Coptic Egypt to Byzantine Abruzzo – The
Byzantines in Abruzzo (6th – 7th
Century)," organised in the ducal castle of Crecchio by the
local section of the Archeoclub and by the Government
Department of Antiquities of Chieti. The coastal Abruzzo
region, including the Torricella region, was involved in
marine traffic in Byzantine
times and it continues to give us proof of both the presence
of and the settlements of Ostrogoth, Longobard and Norman
peoples who crossed the peninsula. And the Torricellan
Helmet is a proof of that. In 537 the territory of
Torricella was fiercely fought over by Ostrogoths and
Byzantines, and the helmet, which has come down to us in
very good condition, belonged to a warrior of the Ostrogoth
army defeated by the Byzantines. |
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