The modern symbol of Vasto on the ruins of the Roman port
The Monument to the Bather, standing on the Scaramuzza rock, right where the Gulf of Vasto meets the rocky stretch now known as the Costa dei Trabocchi, is considered the main symbol of Vasto today. However, its history and that of the surrounding environment tell us a story that spans three thousand years.
The bronze statue, a work by the artist Aldo D’Adamo from Ortona, was commissioned by the municipality of Vasto and inaugurated in 1979. It is 3.60 meters tall and weighs about half a ton. It was conceived as a promotional tool for Vasto as a seaside destination and, in a sense, can be considered the sculptural equivalent of the postcards that were very popular in the 1970s, featuring beautiful girls in bikinis on the beach.
The most amusing aspect is that the Monument to the Bather is not located just anywhere but in the sea area where ruins are still visible, likely from the Roman era, now called the “Underwater Archaeological Park of Vasto.”
The walls emerging from the sandy seabed are easily visible, especially on days when the sea is clear, and the area is the one at the mouth of the Angrella stream where Vasto’s first landing place was located, between the rocks called Trave and Scaramuzza. According to legend, it is there that Diomedes landed, fleeing from the destruction of Troy, to found the ancient Histon about three thousand years ago. It is also in that location that a port structure developed in Roman times and later in the medieval period, likely active until the 16th century.
Today, long after its function as a landing place has ceased, it can be said that the bathing season in this area is also coming to an end, as beachgoers have spread across the entire coast. The Monument to the Bather thus becomes a sentinel that connects the Golfo d’oro with the Costa dei Trabocchi and takes on a historical value that speaks of a time that seems relatively close but is already quite distant.
