Height: 235 meters above sea level, Residents: about 5,000 Originally Paglieta consisted just of a castle built by the Saracens after the social war (90-88 b.c.) and bearing the name Castrum Palletae.
Archaeological finds in the area – inscriptions and coins –show that the whole area of Abruzzi was settled first by the Etrurians and then by the Frentani. The latter formed a Samnitic colony which left Samnium in search of new land. This is confirmed by a number of Latin historians and poets: Livius, Florius, Plinius.
Castrum Palletae was founded on a hill on the right bank of the river Sangro for defense purposes. In its early days it was just a fortified site surrounded by polygonal walls, which were intended to protect the armed garrisons stationed there.
Over the centuries it fell under the successive dominance of the Normans, Swabians, Angevins and Aragonese. Its name is derived from Palea which means “straw” due to the abundance of wheat crops in the area; Pallata means “big straw pile”. The name most likely also bears some relation to the local houses, which used to be built from clay and straw and whose roofs consisted of straw only. Even Paglieta’s present-day coat of arms displays a wheaf sheaf. Palletta was sold in 1312 by Robert of Anjou to the town of Lanciano, under whose control it remained until 1530. The first mention of Paglieta in an official document dates from 1087 (the transfer of seven castles, including Paglieta, to the abbot of the Monastery of San Giovanni in Venere by the Bishop of Chieti).
The family of Giuseppe Di Matteo, the owner of the complex “La Vigna di Ranco”, originates from this village. The Di Matteos are one of the village’s ancient families, theirs is a patronymic family name. Their name appears as de Mattheis in a 1664 document and as de Matteo in another one from 1668.
The original family split into many branches, the main four being known by their nicknames Barrettone (from berrettone, “big cap”), Ferrari; Polisiello and Scuzzone.
The Barrettonis (the forefathers of Giuseppe Di Matteo) and other Di Matteos lived in C.da Ranco (known today as li Bartoni). Through the municipal archives and the local parish registers we can go back over ten generations till 1692. In the first half of the 19th century Di Matteo Vincenzo, a member of the Bartoni family, was appointed as “public treasurer”, hence the nickname “lu casciere” given to the following generations. Di Matteo Vincenzo was an outstanding personality, an officer in the Neapolitan army and a non-commissioned officer of the urban guard in charge of the village. He trained a number of local peasants in the use of weapons, turning them into a squad of Paglieta’s urban guard. This squad paid honors to King Ferdinad II of Bourbon as he passed by on board the river boat Torino di Sangro in 1847.

BIBLIOGRAFIA
Giuseppe Nelli: Notizie storiche di Paglieta
Ed: Nuovo Mondo

Antonino Di Lallo: PAGLIETA
1° edizione 1990
Ed: La Perseveranza - Bologna