Rossetti Square

Rossetti Square is the throbbing heart of the old city. It is here, in the presence of the grim statue of the exiled poet, Gabriele Rossetti, absorbed in his reading, that one can breathe the authentic atmosphere of Vasto. The monument is a work of the sculptor, Filippo Cifariello, and pays homage to the poet from Vasto exiled to Great Britain to escape the death sentence for his active participation in the Carbonari uprisings in 1820-1821.
The square has kept in its peculiar ellipsoidal plan, a clear trace of the existence of one of the oldest monuments in the city, the Naumachia amphitheatre, still visible in the 17^th century and partially enclosed by the medieval walls. Accessible levels of the building are at present buried at a depth of over five metres. Some parts of the ellipse inserted in the block adjacent to the eastern side of the square are still visible, closed on the south-east by the slender Bassano Tower which bears the Aragonese and Vasto municipality’s coats of arms. The tower traces back to 1427 while the corbelled top, to 1713. The 17^th century church of San Francesco da Paola can be admired on the western side of the square.