An official paper spoke about Città Sant’Angelo on October 13^th, 875 for the first time. The Emperor Ludwig II granted to the Casauria Monastery a privilege on a place called Civitate S.Angeli, where a castle and a port were situated. More ancient information date the origin of Città Sant’Angelo back to the times of the Romans, to an ancient town called Angulum, well-known for its salt pits and the excellent wine, often mentioned by Plinius in his descritpion of the “vestine” lands. The inhabitants of the village, the so-called Angolani are actually named after this legend because we cannot speak about an historical verified reality 
In the year 1239 Città Sant’Angelo was destroyed by the troops of Boamondo Pissono, the so-called “Avenger from Abruzzi”, by order of the Emperor Federico II from Hohenstaufen, Federico Barbarossa’s nephew. The inhabitants were therefore accused of being sided with the Pope Gregorio IX.
The little town began to slowly revive even though it faced other sieges during the following centuries either from the Angevins or the Spaniards. In 1748 the Aquisgrana Trety declared that the little town was now under the Reign of Naples. That’s how it remained until the proclamation of the Unity of Italy.

We must not forget that Città Sant’Angelo, together with other little towns among which Penne, Castiglione Messer Raimondo and Penna Sant’ Andrea, were the chief protagonists of the first carbonara insurrection during the period of the Italian Risorgimento. In 1814 they rebelled against the Gioacchino Murat’s troops. The insurrection was crushed  with bloodshed and Filippo La Noce and Domenico Marulli, Angolani heads, were executed. Another head of the ribellion, Michelangelo Castagna, succeeded in fleeing.

During the past centuries, Città Sant’Angelo has been a great political centre as well as a cultural one, according to the architectural testimony.

The big and imposing Cathedral, laying down on one side, is consecrated to St. Michele Arcangelo and dates back to the year 1236; it is situated at the entrance of the little town. Outside there is a beautiful arcade, 47 metres long, a portal,which has been recently restructured and which can be ascribed to Raimondo di Poggio’s leading people, a big bell tower, 47 metres high, which was built in 1425 by Neapolitan leaders and then rebuilt in 1709 after the earthquake which occurred in 1702.

The Cathedral is consecrated to the patron saint of Città San Michele Arcangelo and its origin of the faith is to be seeked in the Longobards’ conversion to Christianity.

Città Sant’Angelo missed a real feudatory and this easily allowed the settlement of the Frati Minori Conventuali, who began to build around the first residential complex, the today’s Casale, afterwards expanding towards the other hills and linking the various complexes with the soon becoming main street of the town. That is why the two big  S.Michele Arcangelo and San Francesco churches were situated on one side of the town and it was therefore necessary to adapt the structure building large side doors on the aisles. As we have already told, the Casale has been the first residential complex of the hills. It is nowadays still characterized by special streets radiating off from the square and by a castle.

The town started to change over the centuries eastward expanding and equipping itself with a special sort of defence based on the houses which nowadays still show little outer windows from where the inhabitants used to control the countryside. The big doors leading to the little town do still remain as a testimony of the former times when they closed the village at fixed hours in order to protect it during the night. Four of the above mentioned doors are still existing: on the south side Porta Sant’Antonio and Porta Sant’ Egidio (built at the end of the eighteen century); Porta Casale and Porta Licinia (also called Porta Borea) are probably part of the boundary wall of the town, built during the XIV century. According to the tradition, the bishop used to get through Porta Casale when he had to get possession of the town. At the entrance of the little town there were two other doors: Porta Sant’Angelo and another one.in a placed named Martella.

The noble palaces, built from 1600 on are the main features of the town. Some are ancient convents, which have been readapted to palaces, after the abolition of the conventual orders; others occupied instead the free spaces or joined existing buildings.