The Ostrogoth Helmet of Torricella Peligna
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 of the
presence of and of 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 contested 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.
© Amici di Torricella
Translation courtesy of Dr. Marion Apley Porreca