Montesilvano

Montesilvano (Italian pronunciation: [ˌmontesilˈvaːno]) is a city and comune of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Abruzzo is often called Mare-Monti (Sea-Mountain) region. The name Montesilvano is apparently derived from the Latin which means "woody hill" ("woods" – silva).

Montesilvano
Comune
Città di Montesilvano
Aerial view
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Montesilvano
Montesilvano Location of Montesilvano in Italy Show map of Italy Montesilvano Montesilvano (Abruzzo) Show map of Abruzzo
Coordinates: 42°30′51″N 14°8′58″E
Country	Italy
Region	Abruzzo
Province	Pescara (PE)
Frazioni	Colonnetta, Case di Pietro, Fossonono, Mazzocco, Montesilvano Colle, Montesilvano Spiaggia, Santa Venere, Trave, Villa Verlengia, Villa Canonico, Villa Carmine, Villa Verrocchio
Government
• Mayor	Ottavio De Martinis (Lega[1])
Area [2]
• Total	23.57 km2 (9.10 sq mi)
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population  (1 January 2023[3])[4]
• Total	53,275
• Density	2,300/km2 (5,900/sq mi)
Demonym	Montesilvanesi
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	65015 - 65016
Dialing code	085
ISTAT code	068024
Patron saint	Sant'Antonio di Padova
Website	Official website

Geography

Montesilvano is located on the Adriatic Sea immediately north of Pescara, to which it is physically connected. It is divided into Montesilvano Marina and Montesilvano Colle. The first is a seaside resort; the second is the original medieval comune and citadel. Montesilvano is a two-hour drive from Rome and is close to Abruzzo Airport and Pescara Centrale railway station. The mouth of the Saline river is directly north of the town.

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1861 2,253 —     1871 2,504 +11.1% 1881 2,605 +4.0% 1901 3,607 +38.5% 1911 3,905 +8.3% 1921 4,510 +15.5% 1931 5,433 +20.5% 1936 5,909 +8.8%	Year Pop. ±% 1951 7,387 +25.0% 1961 10,420 +41.1% 1971 18,265 +75.3% 1981 29,240 +60.1% 1991 35,153 +20.2% 2001 40,700 +15.8% 2011 50,413 +23.9% 2021 53,402 +5.9%
Source: ISTAT

Administration

The 2019 Italian local elections saw Ottavio De Martinis, standing for Lega, elected as the Mayor of Montesilvano.^[1][5]

On 25 May 2014, the city residents, alongside residents of neighboring cities of Pescara and Spoltore voted in a referendum on merging into a single city. Montesilvano voters approved the merger with 52.23% of the votes.^[6] The regional law approving the merger was passed on 8 August 2018, with a target date of 1 January 2022. It was later pushed back to 2023,^[7] and then again to 2027.^[8]

Twin towns — sister cities

Montesilvano is twinned with:

• Gradiška, Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 2018^[9]
• Bender, Moldova^[10]
• Hajdúböszörmény, Hungary

Notable people

• Giò Di Tonno, singer
• Dean Martin, singer and movie star whose father was from Montesilvano
• Franco Marini, politician, Montesilvano senator and president of the Italian Senate