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SYNOPSIS
For centuries, Pescara has been portrayed as a young, modern city, almost devoid of any real historical depth. A city born between the river and the sea, growing primarily in the modern era along the traces of a past considered marginal.
But what truly lies beneath the city we know today?
Director Alessio Consorte embarks on a journey in search of ancient Aternum, the name by which Pescara was known in Roman times. The investigation begins with the river—with its banks and riverbed—following a series of submerged traces, documents, ancient maps, images, and testimonies that seem to reveal an unexpected face of the settlement.
What emerges is the possibility that Aternum was not the small settlement handed down through traditional historical narratives, but a place of far greater importance, deeply connected to the political, commercial, and military dynamics of ancient Italy.
Through clues, archives, and images from the past, the director follows the traces of monumental structures that have long since disappeared or been forgotten. Taken together, these elements seem to form a picture far more complex than the one known until now.
The river thus becomes the thread running through an investigation that spans centuries of history, challenging some of the most deeply rooted assumptions about the origins of Pescara.
A journey through time, between what is still visible and what has remained hidden, in search of an ancient city that may lie directly beneath the one we know today.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Alessio Consorte, born in Pescara in 1980, is a multifaceted professional working across photography, fashion, and audiovisual production. He has been a registered member of the Abruzzo Order of Journalists since 2017.
Following his experience with photographer and director Bruce Weber, he moved behind the camera, developing a personal visual language that combines aesthetic research, multimedia experimentation, and cultural storytelling.
In October 2021, he released the film dossier Decumano Maximo, a journey through time and space following the traces of the Social War of 91 BC, the major conflict in which the Italic peoples - including the Marsi, Samnites, and others - rose against the overwhelming power of Rome.
In 2023, he released an investigative film on the Capestrano Warrior, considered one of the oldest statues in Italy. The investigation led to two favorable rulings before the Administrative Court of Pescara (TAR). According to Consorte’s research, the statue was manufactured in 1934.
Among his works selected for major Italian and international film festivals-including Arkhaios, RAM Film Festival, Firenze Archeofilm, and Flaiano Film Festival - his short films L’Ultima Bottega (The Last Workshop) and Il Serparo stand out.
- Year2026
- Runtime61 minutes
- LanguageItalian
- CountryItaly
- DirectorAlessio Consorte
- ProducerAlessio Consorte
SYNOPSIS
For centuries, Pescara has been portrayed as a young, modern city, almost devoid of any real historical depth. A city born between the river and the sea, growing primarily in the modern era along the traces of a past considered marginal.
But what truly lies beneath the city we know today?
Director Alessio Consorte embarks on a journey in search of ancient Aternum, the name by which Pescara was known in Roman times. The investigation begins with the river—with its banks and riverbed—following a series of submerged traces, documents, ancient maps, images, and testimonies that seem to reveal an unexpected face of the settlement.
What emerges is the possibility that Aternum was not the small settlement handed down through traditional historical narratives, but a place of far greater importance, deeply connected to the political, commercial, and military dynamics of ancient Italy.
Through clues, archives, and images from the past, the director follows the traces of monumental structures that have long since disappeared or been forgotten. Taken together, these elements seem to form a picture far more complex than the one known until now.
The river thus becomes the thread running through an investigation that spans centuries of history, challenging some of the most deeply rooted assumptions about the origins of Pescara.
A journey through time, between what is still visible and what has remained hidden, in search of an ancient city that may lie directly beneath the one we know today.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Alessio Consorte, born in Pescara in 1980, is a multifaceted professional working across photography, fashion, and audiovisual production. He has been a registered member of the Abruzzo Order of Journalists since 2017.
Following his experience with photographer and director Bruce Weber, he moved behind the camera, developing a personal visual language that combines aesthetic research, multimedia experimentation, and cultural storytelling.
In October 2021, he released the film dossier Decumano Maximo, a journey through time and space following the traces of the Social War of 91 BC, the major conflict in which the Italic peoples - including the Marsi, Samnites, and others - rose against the overwhelming power of Rome.
In 2023, he released an investigative film on the Capestrano Warrior, considered one of the oldest statues in Italy. The investigation led to two favorable rulings before the Administrative Court of Pescara (TAR). According to Consorte’s research, the statue was manufactured in 1934.
Among his works selected for major Italian and international film festivals-including Arkhaios, RAM Film Festival, Firenze Archeofilm, and Flaiano Film Festival - his short films L’Ultima Bottega (The Last Workshop) and Il Serparo stand out.
- Year2026
- Runtime61 minutes
- LanguageItalian
- CountryItaly
- DirectorAlessio Consorte
- ProducerAlessio Consorte