What is "ortona"

Ortona is a coastal town and municipality of the Province of Chieti in the Italian region of Abruzzo, with some 23,000 inhabitants.

Ortona was the site of fierce fighting between the 1st Fallschirmjäger Division and the 1st Canadian Infantry Division during the Italian campaign in World War II. The ferocity of the battle led it to be known as the "Little Stalingrad" (See Battle of Ortona). A patron saint of Ortona is Saint Thomas the Apostle (Tommaso), whose relics are kept here.