Ortona

Ortona ōrtôˈnä [key], town (1991 pop. 22,601), Abruzzi, central Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. Now a small fishing port and a seaside resort, it was a major port from the 11th cent. to 1447, when its fleet and arsenal were destroyed by the Venetians. The 12th-century cathedral (now restored) and the Aragonese castle (15th cent.) were heavily damaged in World War II.

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