I saw a photo of the stone statue of the Warrior of Capestrano on a site and immediately wanted to see it. It just happened to appear a couple of days before my son and I were heading to Abruzzo to see a friend of his. Capestrano was on our way…what a coincidence.
The 2 metre statue was discovered by accident by a farmer ploughing a field in Capestrano in 1934. There was also a female statue and tombs discovered in later excavations in the area. It was discovered that the vineyard where the statue was found was above an Iron Age cemetery.
The statue is a Picine Warrior dated to the 6th century BC. It was found in the Vestini territory but the man is wearing a Picene hat….and what a hat it is!
We went to Capestrano to visit the castle where a copy of the statue resides.
Unfortunately, even though the website of the castle said it was open, it was not. It has been closed for some months for restoration.
There was nothing to be done but head to Chieti to the Museo Arcologico to see the original. I think you will agree that the Warrior is special. He is the last exhibit in the wonderful museum, which I will share with you in another post.
Take a look at the stunning warrior. The hat is removable.
The statue, made of local stone and marble, belongs to the ancient Piceni population that flourished in northeast central Italy in the 6th century BC. It appears to have been originally painted. It was a funerary statue adorned with weapons and armour. The hat is a large crested parade helmet. He would have been a warrior, nobleman and a leader.
I am delighted to have found him.