walls (11th century). They consist in two massive towers, the most recent dating to the 15th century, offering a panoramic view of the area. Porta San Biagio (11th century), the only one gate remaining of the nine once existing. Torre civica (19th century), was built over a pre-existing tower next to the cathedral. Nowadays it is a belfry and a clock tower. Torre Aragonese, (15th century) was a tower along the ancient walls. Palazzo dell'Arcivescovado, (16th century) is still the seat of the archbishop and houses a diocesan Museum. Botteghe medievali, was a house built in 1434. It has two floors and on the ground floor there are antique shops, with external bank according to the Roman use. Vasto The old part of the town (centro storico) features a number of interesting buildings and churches dating from the 12th to the 18th century, including: Cathedral of San Giuseppe Santa Maria Maggiore :largest and oldest church in the town, mentioned in a document as early as 1195, with a tall bell tower. Damaged by the Turks in 1566, and by a fire in 1645, it went a thorough restructuring in 1735 in which it got the current shape. It hosts one of alleged Jesus' crown of thorns (Sacra Spina). Castello Caldoresco , which houses four museums, called the . Below the hill on which the town is located, the beach resort town of Marina di Vasto offers a large sandy beach and several hotels and other facilities. Further north the coast becomes rocky and features interesting pebble and stone beaches and coves, as well as the typical trabocchi, that are typical wooden fishing machines of the Southern Abruzzo coast. Amongst the most interesting natural areas, also featuring a number of sandy and rocky beaches, is the protected natural area of the Riserva Naturale di Punta Aderci, whose beaches were voted in 2014 3rd of the top 20 beaches in Italy. Ortona The origins of Ortona are uncertain. Presumably, it was first inhabited by the Frentani, an Italic population. In 2005, during works near the Castle, a Bronze Age settlement was discovered, and the Roman town largely coincided with this first settlement. Some sections of paved roads and urban walls, as well as some archaeological findings are the only remains of this period. Ortona remained a part of the Roman Empire i.e., the Byzantine Empire for several centuries, before it was annexed