Editing Termoli (section)

==History==
{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}
Human settlements existed in Termoli since pre-historical times, as showed by the presence of ancient [[necropolis]] in contrada Porticone and Difesa Grande, as well as from reconnaissance attestations of [[Roman Villa|ville]] owned by [[Ancient Rome|Roman]]s patricians that had their [[villa]] near the Molisan coast.

The first documentation of today's city dates to the presence of the ancestor of the current cathedral, documented in the 10th century. Termoli was a [[Lombards|Lombard]] county until the arrival of the [[Italo-Normans|Normans]], under which flourished and expanded. Later devastations meant a period of decay which lasted until around 1770, when the local nobles were permitted by the [[Kingdom of Two Sicilies|Kings of Naples]] to build new edifices along the coast and in direction of the countryside.

During [[World War II]] Termoli became the centre of one of the largest tank battles of the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]] over the period 2 to 6 October, 1943. On the night of 2/3 October, during [[Operation Devon]], [[British Commandos]] of the [[2nd Special Service Brigade]], which comprised [[No. 3 Commando|No. 3 (Army) Commando]], [[40 Commando|40 (Royal Marine) Commando]] and the [[Special Air Service|Special Raiding Squadron]] landed by sea then cleared the town of most of its German defenders. During the first day these forces set up road blocks around the town and were joined by British infantry advancing across the Biferno river to the south-east. They were unaware that the [[16th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|16th Panzer Division]] was on its way to create a new defensive line. On 4 October British reinforcements arrived by sea and land, but tanks were unable to cross the river until [[Royal Engineers|engineers]] completed a bridge for heavy traffic. On 5 October the panzers attacked, pushing much of the British line back in disarray. At the end of the day they were only a short distance from the town. With the arrival of further reinforcements at the port, the engineers were able to complete the bridge allowing tanks to cross. On 6 October the Germans renewed their attack but it soon stalled and the British, with Canadian tanks from the [[Three Rivers Regiment]] (12<sup>e</sup> Régiment blindé du Canada) in support, counter-attacked. They were successful and by 7 October the Germans were pulling back to their next line of defence.

Termoli is rapidly becoming one of the most important centres in the Molise. The latter region suffered from depopulation in the years after World War II and there has been a migration from the internal hill towns to the coastal resort. Its status as the pre-eminent resort site is now being challenged by [[Campomarino]], about {{convert|5|km|mi|spell=in}} southward.